There’s a lot of lip service paid to the military on Memorial Day, but it’s important to remember that, for all the money thrown at wars (now $1 trillion on Iraq and Afghanistan and counting) surprisingly little makes its way to veterans. Austin native, Iraq veteran and film maker Casey Porter has an important message about the benefits system.

Porter first appeared in the Chronicle discussing how he was stop-lossed and the issues he had raised about how the war in Iraq is really being waged through his films. He’s currently studying film making in Florida, but he’s also taking some time to re-edit some of his earlier films that he made while serving in Iraq. Here’s the new version of his short documentary Fire Mission.

Youtube video

This article appears in May 28 • 2010.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.