The Medal of Honor Series, Episode 2: SSG Clint Romesha

We had been asked to screen the new Netflix docuseries, Medal of Honor, watching “Episode 2: Staff Sgt. Clint Romesha.” I specifically chose Clint Romesha because I’ve read his book, Red Platoon, and was privileged to interview him on Army Wife Talk Radio back in 2016, right around the time of his book release. (Want to check it out? You can find the interview here: AWTR Show 567: Red Platoon, A True Story of American Valor.)

Would this be an overly dramatized movie depicting perceived ideas of combat, or would it get to the real strength of what valor means?

Because we are part of the big military family, we hosted a “pre-screening brief,” where we chatted a bit about what it meant to be awarded the Medal of Honor. After we set our own context for the show, it was go time.

From the very beginning, Netflix drew us into the series. They set the scene with Romesha and his platoon as they canvass a small village in rural Afghanistan, scanning the crowded area of busy Afghan villagers for potential threats and Taliban.

Throughout the episode, fellow soldiers who served with Romesha share personal stories of how their experience played out. They recount living in tight quarters, in a ramshackle Army camp, which were set up in between the country hills where the Taliban fighters could be hiding anywhere. Under this constant threat of attack, the men made the best of it. These soldiers played video games, swapped stories of loved ones waiting back home, and in the process, developed a close-knit group. Really, they had to because they never knew when their lives would depend on their battle buddies having their backs.

As the soldiers tell their stories, Gen. David Petraeus sets the military scene for viewers as he describes the threat this group of service members was constantly under. The show’s writers were effective in providing adequate background to portray the magnitude of the situation. But clearly, the story didn’t stop there.  

One day, the enemy broke through the perimeter of the camp. The call went out: “Enemy inside the wire!” Combat Outpost Keating was under attack.

I encourage you to watch this docuseries for yourself to find out how it ends, because there is much more to this story. Get down in the trenches with real-life service members and experience their story firsthand on Netflix.

Processing our connections

Although I read Romesha’s book and heard the story from his own mouth on the AWTR interview, watching it unfold before my eyes was gripping. I couldn’t divert my eyes or my heart. I had this intense desire to honor these heroic soldiers by seeing and hearing their story so I could truly understand what they so bravely endured.

After the hour-long show was over, we sat in silence for a few moments, processing what we just witnessed.

Netflix didn’t film horrific shots of blood and gore that left us speechless or uncomfortable. No, we were struggling to come to grips with the reality of war, and what our service members experience in the midst of it.

Wendy’s husband, Shawn, quietly exited the room. This is a man who has seen his fair share of combat deployments. In that moment, it struck me that his silence spoke louder than a dictionary full of words. 

Then, just as suddenly as we’d fallen silent at the conclusion of the episode, my friends and I started talking at once. We wondered aloud what our own service members have experienced.

How do they cope? What was is like? How can we honor them?

We expressed our mixed emotions of grief that this is a reality in our world today, but also everlasting gratitude and pride for those who so bravely serve our country. We then realized this wasn’t just some friendly watch party and when the screen went dark, we would forget what we had witnessed.

Instead, this episode made us think, enlightened our hearts and has since stuck with us as we continue to support our service members with their life calling.

I’m thankful to live in a country where we’re free—a place that men and women volunteer to serve our country, sometimes unto death. I was grateful to Blue Star Families with our Blue Star Neighbors, Netflix, and Medal of Honor, for connecting me with this opportunity to screen the new Medal of Honor series from Netflix, “Episode 2: SSG Clint Romesha.” Yes, viewing this episode from a Medal of Honor series was indeed an honor.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to tell my service member thank you for his service.

Editor’s note: Gift items from Netflix’s Medal of Honor were received in preparation for writing this post.