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WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 11, 2008) - A 75-minute documentary
that focuses on the lives of six military widows from the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars will start making the rounds this month at
military bases and Veterans of Foreign Wars halls across the
country.
"In the documentary, the women speak about everything from how
they met their husbands to when they received that dreaded knock on
the door," said Taryn Davis, founder and president of the American
Widow Project. "Their stories and experiences have been made into
this film."
Davis started filming this documentary a year ago and finished
in April. On July 12, 2008, she screened the film for more than 30
military widows from all over the country.
"As I sat in the theater, I heard them cry, cheer and even
laugh," Davis said. "I saw the film doing what it was meant to do -
allowing them to work through their grief and mourning by hearing
the candid stories of those who have and are going through the same
thing."
Davis said she completed the documentary to reach out to the
widows and widowers who are not aware of the American Widow
Project, a home-front group of the Defense Department's America
Supports You program, and to raise awareness of the organization as
a whole.
"When I lost my husband, Cpl. Michael Davis, on May 21, 2007, I
found very few resources that spoke to me," Davis said. "I wanted
something that would candidly tell me which obstacles I would face
in the next weeks, months and years - something that would tell me
what to do with his belongings, how to celebrate anniversaries and
inspire me to take on this new world without my husband," she
said.
In talking with other widows, Davis said, she realized she was
not alone in her feelings and started the American Widow Project to
help herself and others like her. The project boasts 140 friends,
all military widows, on its "widows-only" MySpace page.
Davis also hopes, through the American Widow Project, to offer a
hotline for widows to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
With other widows taking calls, she envisions the hotline as a
networking system to connect widows to people in their communities
who would like to volunteer their time and services - whether it be
babysitting or counseling - to show their thanks and appreciation
for the sacrifice their loved ones made.
The American Widow Project documentary will be sent free of
charge to all military widows and widowers. The public also can buy
the DVD, with all the proceeds going back into the
organization.
The documentary will be available on the American Widow Project
Web site later this month. A preview can be seen on YouTube.
Editor's Note: To find out about more individuals,
groups and organizations that are helping support the troops,
visitwww.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. America
Supports You directly connects military members to the support of
the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their
quest to find meaningful ways to support the military
community.
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