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Group to help GIs see military documentary 'Brothers at War'

DaytonDefense and American Veterans Institute providing free passes in July to see film that looks at U.S. fighting forces and their families.

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By Joanne Clodfelter, Contributing Writer 12:01 PM Thursday, June 25, 2009

HUBER HEIGHTS — DaytonDefense and the American Veterans Institute will honor military personnel in a unique way during the month of July by giving out free tickets to the movie ‘‘Brothers at War,’’ a Samuel Goldwyn film produced by actor Gary Sinise.

‘‘Brothers at War’’ is a documentary that celebrates the courage and integrity of the American military and the American military family.

When retired Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Jackson, co-founder of the American Veterans Institute in Tipp City, heard Sinese talking about the film, he knew he wanted to bring it to the Miami Valley as a way to honor local GIs.

“Because the movie is a documentary, it doesn’t have the promotional budget of your typical theatrical film, so we needed to pre-sell 1,000 tickets. But we didn’t want to just pre-sell the tickets, we wanted to donate them to the very people this film honors ... our men and women in uniform,” said Jackson in a press release.

“As a small nonprofit, we pour every cent into programming, so we needed help with the ticket sales.”

DaytonDefense, (formerly the Dayton Area Defense Contractors Association) purchased the first 1,000 tickets, which will be given to active duty, reservists, veterans, and their families.

Additional advance tickets for the movie can be purchased on the DaytonDefense Web site (www.DaytonDefense.org) for $20. Nine dollars is for a ticket; another $9 is for a GI ticket, and the remaining $2 goes toward the DaytonDefense Scholarship Fund. People can buy advance tickets (which support local GIs) for $20 or wait until the tickets are available at the box office for $9.

“We really want to honor our men and women in uniform and spotlight this meaningful film,” said Tara Dixon Engel, vice president of the American Veterans Institute.

“Likewise, we want to let Daytonians know about great organizations like DaytonDefense and the American Veterans Institute that are enduring these tough economic times and redoubling their efforts to support our men and women in uniform,’’ she said.

‘‘The Miami Valley should be proud of these organizations and, most of all, of the men and women who risk their lives to preserve our freedom.”

American Veterans Institute, a grassroots organization, was founded in 2005 by Jackson and Engel, in order to honor and assist veterans and their families on a variety of levels.

The Web site is www. AmericanVeteransInstitute.org.

Area Bob Evans Restaurants also are saying “thanks” to veterans and active duty military in the month of July by giving out a free slice of pie to anyone showing military ID or discharge papers.

Contact this reporter at joanneclodfelter@ameritech.net