5:00 p.m. Reception | 6:00 p.m. Screening | 6:45 p.m. Panel Discussion | 7:30 p.m. Conclusion

What do American children experience when their fathers or mothers go to war—and when they come home?

Join us on Veterans Day, November 11, for a program that brings into focus a group that has been overlooked for far too long, since September 11, 2001, the children that our servicemen and women leave behind when they are deployed.

Veteran Children: When Parents Go To War is a half-hour documentary film that illuminates the remarkable struggles, strengths, and perspectives of America's military children. This film was produced by Susan Hackley, the mother of a combat veteran of the Iraq war, and Martha Jackson, the mother of a combat veteran of the Afghanistan war.

While recognizing that the impact of war is profound and often devastating on children in the war-torn countries of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, the filmmakers chose to focus on Americans, as a way of promoting meaningful discussion of the impacts of war on Americans who serve and their families, and to help bridge the military-civilian divide. The film provides a unique lens as families and children tell us their stories in their own words.

More than 2.7 million American children have a parent who has served in the war in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Syria. But most Americans are far from the front lines, as our country’s all-volunteer military represents 0.5 percent of the population. The significant difference in experience between those who go to war and those who don't has resulted in a wide gap in understanding the impacts of war. While many civilians want to know more, they lack ways to relate and connect.

Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion with the filmmakers and the Museum’s Vice President of Education and Access, Colonel Pete Crean, who joined the Museum staff after 30 years of service in the US Army.

The evening’s events are free and open to the public, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Please register online or call 504-528-1944 x 412.