Army Wives: A Final Salute Page #8

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we make it,

the more their heroism

is in context.

[ Gunfire ] Incoming!

Biank:
It was

an important element to add

because what those soldiers

experienced in a war zone,

they bring that back with them.

[ Cheers and applause ]

You know, I'm also really glad

that our show dealt with

a lot of the challenges

that soldiers deal with

when they come home, you know,

with the post-traumatic

stress disorder, TBI, addiction.

Trevor.

Did you take these?

- Leave me alone.

- How many did you take?

Fuller:

There was a time when Trevor

is going through

a drug addiction.

He was addicted to pain-killers

because he really wanted

to rehab his shoulder

as quick as possible

to get back to his men.

I feel ashamed.

Ashamed for getting wounded,

ashamed for not being

with my unit,

ashamed for getting hooked on

the pills.

It's hard.

It's a very real topic

that so many people

are struggling with

on a daily basis.

Can I ask you something?

How long before

everything feels normal again?

It never does.

Davis:
I was excited to have

the opportunity

to really bring post-traumatic

stress disorder to the public.

Also, we dealt with TBI.

Traumatic Brain Injury...

Can you see me, baby?

Yes.

I can see you.

Which is also a big challenge

for a lot of soldiers

returning from war.

The treatment for TBI

is rehabilitation,

re-training your brain,

essentially.

Joan dealt with

these two conditions

and was able to sort of

overcome them fairly quickly.

But in real life,

they can be a lifelong struggle.

This is a magazine,

something that you... read.

There were certainly times

where we felt like

we were selling something short

because we had to shorten it.

I think that's good

for the audience to know.

You know, hopefully the issues

were dealt with

in an honest way.

Four weeks

off post-head shrinking

after your last tour

in Afghanistan?

You gonna go there?

Everybody knows

if General Holden

wasn't our guardian angel,

you'd have been drummed

out of the army by now.

McNamara:

And you had some challenges.

- Yeah.

- A woman in a man's world.

Even on our set,

it was sort of a man's world.

- Absolutely.

- Attention!

As you were.

I'm looking

for Prospect Kanessa Jones.

I felt a great deal

of responsibility

to do my absolutely best to

represent women in the military

and, more specifically,

women of color.

People always stand up for you

like that?

Oh, yeah.

I'm a lieutenant colonel.

I'm in charge

of 1,400 soldiers.

At ease.

I think men and women

struggle with deployments,

but being a mother

leaving her children...

Thank you.

We'll be ready, sir.

That was very, very difficult

and something

that she couldn't share.

[ Cries ]

There's

an amazing deployment scene

when Joan leaves

her entire family.

And she has

a special conversation

with her son, David,

that really sort of epitomizes

what Joan is dealing with.

Don't worry about me.

Mom will be safe.

I want to give you something.

Don't forget me.

[ Sniffles ]

Of course not.

[ Chuckles ]

Although Joan often chose

the army,

it was at a very high cost

emotionally.

Serpico:
Any career soldier is

gonna have that same experience,

that they have chosen the army

over their family

- on numerous occasions.

- Right.

And that's the contract

that they sign...

not just physically, but

that's the emotional contract

- that they sign with honor.

- Absolutely.

It's very interesting, then,

on flip side,

you have the Chase character.

He had to lose his family...

In order to understand that

that's exactly what...

...to value them, in a way.

What is this?

That is my request

to transfer out of Delta.

Do you think Chase missed it?

Davidson:

I certainly do.

I do think Chase missed it.

But everybody has to

figure those things out

for their own family.

Right now...

I feel like the luckiest guy

on the face of the Earth.

People who don't know what

military families go through,

we told that story.

Welcome home.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you for your service.

I'm pretty proud that we told it

certainly as best as we could,

out of respect.

The funerals, especially

when Jeremy passed away...

You saw it all in slow motion

and, to be honest with you,

I think that's how

any of us would feel,

like time would just stop.

Unfortunately, I've had

to attend memorial services

for fallen Marines,

sailors, soldiers.

So that always really hits close

to home.

It was very emotional for me

as a fan.

Oh, my gosh. That was,

like, the most horrible thing.

But it was real, and that's

what I loved about the show.

Not everybody always survives.

We all know that.

- Is Molly asleep?

- Finally.

- Great.

- And you get some cake?

I will, yeah. Ooh.

I wonder what

that's gonna be like.

- What?

- Well, Tanya.

She's gonna be an army wife

and a soldier.

- If you ask me, it's hard

enough to just be one. - Yeah.

She's a smart girl.

She's find her way.

[ Chuckles ]

Hmm.

Claudia Joy.

Gentlemen.

Man:

Sorry to disturb, Mrs. Holden.

We were informed

that a Mrs. Denise Sherwood

is in attendance.

Is she present?

I'm Denise Sherwood.

- Mrs. Sherwood, why don't we step...

- Please tell me.

- Ma'am, I really think we should...

- Just tell me. Say it.

Ma'am, the Secretary

of the army

has asked me to express

his deep regret.

Serpico:

The loss of Jeremy...

I still can't help

but feel that personally.

The Secretary sends

his deepest sympathy

to you and your family

in this tragic loss.

[ Denise sobs ]

The casualty assistance officer

will contact you

within 24 hours.

Brown:
I think that episode

in particular,

we all pretty much

universally recognize

as being sort of the pinnacle

of, like, what the show was.

We had to do it.

If we didn't lose one

of the soldiers on the show,

we'd be denying a big part

of their existence,

their reality

as military families.

Denise:

Molly never even met him.

She'll never know

her big brother.

I kept that script from people

until the very last minute

'cause I wanted them to react

freshly to it, and they did.

I was staying with Drew

at the time.

And he said,

"Have you read the script?"

I said, "No, not yet." He said,

"You should check it out."

I read the script

and was just bawling.

And I came out, and he's like,

"Yeah, man. Yeah, I know."

McNamara:

He put fives boxes of tissues

in front of my spot

at the table read...

- Yeah.

- ...when we read that script.

Michael:

Has that been confirmed? Over.

Roger that.

Airborne One, out.

[ Helicopter blades whirring ]

Just the way General Holden

walked up to Frank,

and he didn't have to say

anything.

- There was no dialogue was needed.

- Whew.

Well, just heard

the Bravo Company kicked

some serious ass today, sir.

Yep.

Bravo took it to them.

But there were casualties,

Frank.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm sorry.

Fuller:

It was an interesting dichotomy

to see how you needed to be

alone with it

and Denise, on the other side

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