IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN: From the battlefield to Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery.

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From a journalistic standpoint, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may become known as the time and place where documentary film making excelled as a way to tell of the service and sacrifice of U.S. military personnel and their families.

If so, special praise will be bestowed on filmmakers Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill for bringing the wars not just into the living rooms of Americans but into their hearts as well.

First came their ‘Baghdad ER’ which showed the frantic efforts of medical personnel to save wounded Americans. Then, teamed with James Gandolfini (star of ‘The Sopranos’) their ‘Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq’ presented U.S. personnel who talked of their injuries, their survival and their determination to regard each day as a gift.

And now the latest effort by Alpert and O’Neill brings us the grieving and heroism of family members of military personnel.

Set for broadcast Monday by HBO, ‘Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery’ is an emotionally powerful look at the families who visit that part of the famed cemetery where those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are laid to rest.

The vignettes are wrenching: the family that brings Christmas ornaments to their loved one’s grave, the father who says he’d give anything for one more hour of conversation with his son, the family members who talk to the headstones. Read a full review of ‘Section 60’ here.

— Tony Perry, San Diego

P.S. Get news from the Middle East in your mailbox every day. The Los Angeles Times distributes a free daily newsletter with the latest headlines from the Middle East, as well as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can subscribe by logging in at the website here, clicking on the box for ‘L.A. Times updates’ and then clicking on the ‘World: Mideast’ box.