CNN Honors American Troops on Multiple Platforms for Memorial Day
CNN.com Solicits Multimedia Content from Users as Part of ′Coming Home′ Coverage, Tribute
CNN.com has launched a user-generated content feature as part of COMING HOME: FAMILIES AND WAR, an upcoming "Special Report" that explores the impact of the war in Iraq on U.S. troops and their families. At http://www.cnn.com/cominghomestories, users can submit their personal "Coming Home" videos, audio files, photos and text stories, as well as messages to U.S. troops in Iraq for possible inclusion in the special report.
For Memorial Day weekend, CNN plans to offer coverage on multiple platforms with CNN/U.S. airing CNN Presents documentaries about D-Day and soldiers wounded during the war in Iraq; coverage on Headline News; and related reports, through real-time, streaming coverage on up to four simultaneous feeds on CNN Pipeline.
On Friday, May 26, COMING HOME: FAMILIES AND WAR will go live on CNN.com. Through multimedia components and emotive reporting, "Coming Home" explores how the current war differs from previous conflicts, including the effects on social support systems for military families. These compelling stories include a pictorial of a war widow facing her first Memorial Day since her husband died in Iraq. This CNN.com "Special Report" can be found at www.cnn.com/cominghome.
"Coming Home" also will discuss the growing numbers of women in uniform, the effects of long-term deployments, innovations in the way troops keep in touch with loved ones and medical advancements in helping troops recover from war injuries. The Special Report will feature a breadth of stories, audio slide shows, charts and photo galleries as well as a site to allow users to submit personal recollections and messages to troops.
In addition to the Special Report, CNN.com continues to dedicate part of the site to coalition soldiers killed in Iraq. Launched soon after the start of the war, this memorial database, sortable by date of death or name, is available at: http://www.cnn.com/casualties.
On CNN/U.S., CNN Presents will air two documentaries chronicling the sacrifices of American troops in the war in Iraq and in World War II. Wounded Warriors airs on Saturday, May 27, at 8:00 p.m.; it re-airs at 11 p.m. and Sunday, May 28, at 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. D-Day, A Call to Courage airs on Saturday, May 27, at 6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and on Sunday, May 28, at 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. All times Eastern.
For Wounded Warriors, CNN correspondent Alex Quade offers stories gathered over the last 18 months of troops injured at the frontlines in Iraq as well as those of combat medical team members who put their lives on the line to save the fallen. From battlefield evacuations to combat support hospital emergency triage to critical care at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to rehabilitation back home, the documentary reveals compelling stories of bravery and personal courage.
Along the way, Quade - who will also contribute a "Behind the Scenes" report to CNN.com′s "Coming Home" - tells the story of Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell, who inspired and founded the first "Wounded Warriors Barracks" at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina after he survived brain trauma following a mortar attack in Baghdad. Known as "Maxwell Hall," the new barracks offers comprehensive, holistic care in an environment where wounded troops can support each other emotionally as they recover from their physical injuries.
D-Day: A Call to Courage tells about the pivotal Normandy Invasion of World War II through the perspective of the men who landed on the beaches at Normandy, France. The documentary includes rare and insightful commentary from John Eisenhower, the son of the Supreme Allied Commander and future U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower, and esteemed journalists Douglas Brinkley and Walter Cronkite.
