Product Details

• Directors: Michael Epstein
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• DVD Release Date: September 26, 2006
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000GJ0LG8
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,059 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Military & War > Iraq War
  #7 in	Movies & TV > Military & War > Iraq War
  #20 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Military & War > Military History

• For more information about "Combat Diary - The Marines of Lima Company" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Everyone nods and agrees that war is brutal; rarely is that brutality glimpsed as vividly as in Combat Diary - The Marines of Lima Company. During their 2005 tour of duty in Iraq, Lima Company--a unit of Marines, all from Ohio--lost 23 men on the front lines. Combat Diary combines footage shot by the Marines themselves with home digital cameras and interviews with many of the surviving soldiers and parents and wives of men who died. The soldier's footage ranges from bored hijinks to actual firefights, including a troubling, surreal scene of men in full gear with rifles ready patrolling through a crowded Iraqi bazaar. In frank, uncensored language, the men describe how excitement turns to terror and misery, how their friends were shot or set on fire; but even before these jolting stories are told, the price of war can be heard in their voices and seen in their faces. This, combined with interviews with a mother who's kept an answering machine message from her dead son and with a wife who was pregnant with her second child when she learned her husband had been killed, creates a potent documentary. Combat Duty makes no political statements; conservatives and liberals can read their own messages into the movie's stark, simple remembrances. But every American should watch Combat Diary and see, in the eyes of these men, what happens on the ground when a nation decides to go to war. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

ONE TRAGIC MISSION. SEEN THROUGH THEIR CAMERAS. DESCRIBED IN THEIR WORDS. A war exposé unlike any other, COMBAT DIARY: THE MARINES OF LIMA COMPANY provides an unprecedented and harrowing firsthand account of life and death on the front lines of battle. Shot on home video cameras by the very soldiers who were part of the hardest hit combat unit of the Iraq War, this remarkable program weaves heart-pounding digital camera footage with revealing interviews following the action. From the initial enthusiasm of the newly deployed troops to the dramatic outcomes of their combat missions, the Marines of Lima Company bring the war home from the very heart of battle. Distinguished by powerful, unflinching imagery and the frank, heartfelt, and poignant words of the soldiers speaking directly to the viewer, COMBAT DIARY: THE MARINES OF LIMA COMPANY offers an honest and heartbreaking glimpse at the terrifying reality of war. DVD Features: Extended Footage with Commentary; Slide Show; Director’s Biography and Filmography

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, September 19, 2006

By	P. Parker "PC Parker" (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent documentary that tells the story of not only Lima Company but of the 3/25. This DVD contains footage not seen in the A&E special (tracks their time in 29 Palms prior to their deployment to Iraq and others). Well worth the money and is highly recommended to all who want a small glimpse of combat in Iraq and its effect on a community.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NEVER FORGET their sacrifices. Never diminish their accomplishments., July 19, 2006

By	Thomas D. Mckelvey "devildoc18d" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a no non-sense account of 7 months on the ground in the Anbar province in Iraq with the Marines of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, 4th Marine Division. A reserve company located in Columbus, Ohio, these are the images and recollections of average people put in extraordinary circumstances. The video comes, not from mainstream media, but from the Marines and Sailors themselves. Vivid, jarring images and factual, emotive commentary by members of a unit that was at the forefront of most major combat operations in the hardest fought region of Iraq in 2005. Having spent quite some time with most of these men, though I used to think of them as kids, even I was unprepared for the unwavering willingness to share their experiences of combat, emotion and loss. They are quite clear in their messages of why they fought and why they were willing to share their experiences. For our brothers. Semper Fidelus.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best OIF documentary, November 29, 2007

By	Sean Young "SY240" (AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is by far the best war documentary that covers the current conflicts. I am a Soldier with 2 tours in Iraq and I think this story is amazing. The actual Documentary itself was very well made and the whole thing is a tear fest. It is insane what these guys went through and I think every American should watch this film, these Marines of Lima CO are an inspiration for me. I am a Combat medic (the equivalent of a Corpsman) in the Army and for those of you that want to see the average experiences of the infantry in Iraq, this isn't average, this is the worst case scenerio.

Another film that is worth watching and I think shows the average experience of life in Iraq is Occupation: Dreamland, which follows the 82nd. Another one is Gunner Palace and it does reflect how a lot of support personnel are living in Iraq, yet the troops in it are an embarrassment to the Army. An amazing documentary that covers WW2 is The War by Ken Burns, nothing compares to it.