The latest official count of US servicemembers who have died in the Iraq war is 4,180; in Afghanistan, 610. At Arlington National Cemetery, the nation’s preeminent military cemetery, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are buried in Section 60. A new documentary film follows some of the families that come to visit their graves. It’s called Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery.
Jon Alpert, co-director of the film, along with Matthew O’Neill. He is a fifteen-time Emmy winner and the co-founder of Downtown Community Television here in the firehouse. Section 60 is his third film in a trilogy of Iraq-related HBO documentaries, following Baghdad ER and Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq.