Philanthropist Lois Pope Making Sure Disabled Veterans Are Honored

Philanthropist helps put disabled veterans documentary on TV 
Associated Press
By MARISA GOTTESMAN
Saturday, October 31, 2015

“I had no idea about the horrors of war and the devastation it can cause to human beings’ minds and bodies until the moment I walked into the room at Rusk Rehabilitation and saw dozens of Vietnam veterans, some without legs and arms, some mutilated, some burned so badly and some blind.” Lois Pope

ADVANCE FOR USE SATURDAY, OCT. 31 - In this photo taken Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015, Palm Beach County philanthropist Lois Pope poses at her home in Boynton Beach, Fla., with a DVD copy of a PBS documentary about disabled military

MANALAPAN, Fla. (AP) - A Manalapan philanthropist is making good on her promise to herself to share the story of the nation’s disabled veterans with as many people possible.

On Nov.10, the documentary “Debt of Honor: Disabled Veterans in American History” is set to premiere nationwide on PBS. The hourlong film chronicles American wars starting with the American Revolution up to the current conflict in the Middle East, with a focus on the disabled veterans who come home to fight their own personal war of survival once they leave the battlefield.

The $1 million budget film is funded by philanthropist Lois Pope, who for decades has wanted to share the story of the nation’s disabled veterans if she ever had the financial means to do so. It is directed by six-time Emmy award winning director Ric Burns.

“It’s an unflinching report,” Pope said. “It’s a candid chronicle of disabled veterans.”

And Max Cleland was a captain in the Army during the Vietnam War when a grenade exploded and caused him to lose his legs and one arm.

“Once second I am a tall, strapping 6-foot-2, young Army captain the next second I’m laying on the ground bleeding to death,” he said.
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Palm Beach County philanthropist helps bring disabled veterans documentary that airs Nov. 10 on PBS

"History books tell us who won and lost wars. They never tell us the story of the continuing suffering of those who come back home disabled for life." Lois Pope

Published on Aug 19, 2015
Attendees of the 97th National Convention in Baltimore can attend a special screenings of this documentary film, directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker Ric Burns. The movie is a tribute to the history of disabled veterans, the documentary features images and archival footage from the Revolutionary War to today's conflicts in the Middle East, as well as personal stories from disabled veterans.