How War Vet. & Writer Elliot Ackerman Makes Sense of Trauma; His Take on ‘Oppenheimer’ and the Role of Meaning in Our Lives

Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Elliot Ackerman is a fan of Oppenheimer and Dunkirk director Christopher Nolan, and takes inspiration from the director’s ability to powerfully communicate and crystallize key themes for his audience.

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Finding this core meaning or purpose in his own subjects has helped put Mr. Ackerman’s books on The New York Times bestseller’s list; finding his own purpose in life has helped him resolve the trauma of battle.

Mr. Ackerman led a platoon of marines in Fallujah in 2004 during what’s widely considered the highest point of conflict during the Iraq war.

“We don’t need to figure this out right now,” he recalls telling fellow marines amid battle. “We’re gonna have the rest of our lives to sit around and talk about what just happened. We just need to get through the next five days.”

Mr. Ackerman relays how talking together and story-telling gave shape and meaning to the chaotic events, becoming “a vehicle by which [they] all came home.”

On VitalSigns, purple heart and silver star recipient Elliot Ackerman joins host Brendon Fallon to connect the meaning we make through our art to the meaning we locate in our lives.

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Brendon’s “The Wide Angle” interview with Elliot Ackerman on the “Disaster Afghan. Evacuation”
https://cmsapi.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/exclusive-former-us-marine-captain-evacuating-as-many-as-possible-as-aug-31-deadline-looms-3968999

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