thedrifter
05-19-06, 07:22 AM
Watching his final hours
'The film has allowed me to be at my son's bedside,' says the mom of a Marine.
By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer
May 19, 2006
Paula Zwillinger will be watching "Baghdad ER" with tears in her eyes. The death of her son, Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Mininger, serves as a coda to the story of Army medics struggling to save the lives and limbs of U.S. personnel wounded in Iraq.
Zwillinger, a nurse who lives near Poughkeepsie, N.Y., knew nothing of the documentary project until the filmmakers came to her late last year and offered to show her the footage of her son's final hours.
The 21-year-old was in a Humvee patrolling in Fallouja when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. He died 17 hours later in the Army's Green Zone hospital after emergency surgery, with an Army chaplain and a Marine by his side.
"The film has allowed me to be at my son's bedside," Zwillinger said. "It's a gift that not all parents have during a war. It helps me fill in some of the blanks about those 17 hours."
Although the Army has had last-minute misgivings about the project, Zwillinger remains supportive of the documentary.
"I hope Americans can see the pride and the bravery of our troops," she said. "These are guys who are disgusted when they can't go back to the front lines to fight."
Mininger, who left college to enlist, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He died June 6, six weeks before he was set to complete his tour in Iraq.
"I had all the arrangements for his homecoming," Zwillinger said. "I had to change it to a memorial."
After her son's death, Zwillinger began a group supporting troops in Iraq, Semper Fi Parents of Hudson Valley. She hopes the documentary encourages the public to support apolitical groups like hers.
"I hate the war — who wouldn't after losing a son?" she said. "But I love the troops and I'll do anything for them, and I think that's where Americans have to be at."
Ellie
'The film has allowed me to be at my son's bedside,' says the mom of a Marine.
By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer
May 19, 2006
Paula Zwillinger will be watching "Baghdad ER" with tears in her eyes. The death of her son, Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Mininger, serves as a coda to the story of Army medics struggling to save the lives and limbs of U.S. personnel wounded in Iraq.
Zwillinger, a nurse who lives near Poughkeepsie, N.Y., knew nothing of the documentary project until the filmmakers came to her late last year and offered to show her the footage of her son's final hours.
The 21-year-old was in a Humvee patrolling in Fallouja when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. He died 17 hours later in the Army's Green Zone hospital after emergency surgery, with an Army chaplain and a Marine by his side.
"The film has allowed me to be at my son's bedside," Zwillinger said. "It's a gift that not all parents have during a war. It helps me fill in some of the blanks about those 17 hours."
Although the Army has had last-minute misgivings about the project, Zwillinger remains supportive of the documentary.
"I hope Americans can see the pride and the bravery of our troops," she said. "These are guys who are disgusted when they can't go back to the front lines to fight."
Mininger, who left college to enlist, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He died June 6, six weeks before he was set to complete his tour in Iraq.
"I had all the arrangements for his homecoming," Zwillinger said. "I had to change it to a memorial."
After her son's death, Zwillinger began a group supporting troops in Iraq, Semper Fi Parents of Hudson Valley. She hopes the documentary encourages the public to support apolitical groups like hers.
"I hate the war — who wouldn't after losing a son?" she said. "But I love the troops and I'll do anything for them, and I think that's where Americans have to be at."
Ellie