Jake Rademacher honors his brothers’ service by creating award-winning movies about their deployments and life after the war.
Jake Rademacher’s life took on a new mission when he caught up with his brothers who were on leave from their deployments with the Army’s 82nd Airborne during the war in Iraq.
“They told me the truth was not making it out of Iraq,” he recalls. “And as a family member, that really pissed me off so I decided to do something about it. I took all the money I had ever made, got permission from the Department of Defense, put a small camera team together and went to Iraq.”
Rademacher embedded with multiple units, filmed numerous combat engagements, and interviewed more than 40 combat veterans in the warzone.
That led to his award-winning feature film, “Brothers at War.”
“One of the primary values of the film is that it puts a frame around and captures the heart of the American servicemember overseas,” says Rademacher, an alumni of Illinois Boys State. “I want the film to be an opportunity for community and communication and camaraderie. So, I'm very passionate about this film being an opportunity for veterans to come together with their friends and watch the film and have it spark dialogue and communication.”
Later, Rademacher traveled to four continents and created “Brothers After War,” winner of Best Documentary Audience Choice Award at the San Diego International Film Festival. It will be released in movie theaters next February.
Rademacher said he is coordinating with American Legion posts on having the film played in their communities and, in at least one case, doing a Q&A afterward.
The film reconnects with Rademacher’s brothers as well as elite soldiers and Marines he embedded with during the Iraq War. Intercutting footage past and present, movie watchers are led on an insightful, humorous and moving journey as warfighters explore loss, meaning, and hope on their path from warfighter to veteran.
“It has taken 20 years and millions of dollars to get to this point to give you this opportunity,” he says. “But here it is. It's here and now, and my hope is that The American Legion and even specifically the Be the One campaign, you guys really have the population mass to really make a difference, to really scale and make a huge difference on veteran suicide, which is one of many issues, but it's a substantial issue in the veteran space, and I think it's something that we want to go upstream of.
“We want our veterans to be able to talk about things before it becomes a crisis. We want their friends to see if something's wrong before it becomes a crisis.”
To help servicemembers and their families heal and improve communication, Rademacher created a series of Brothers at War Resiliency Workshops. After viewing the film, attendees do a journaling exercise and then participate in a group discussion. These workshops have been conducted for more than 40,000 servicemembers and their families since 2011.
The next Be the One episode will drop Dec. 1. All episodes are available in both audio and video formats here as well as on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel
This episode is the 15th in the Be the One series. Others include:
Episode 14: After losing her son, an Iraq War veteran, Jeri Reed is striving to educate others about the dangers of an anti-psychotic drug he was prescribed.
Episode 13: The survivor of a suicide attempt over the Golden Gate Bridge now dedicates his time and energy to inspire others and help them choose life.
Episode 10: Air Force veteran talks about her faith-based recovery book, steps to overcome suicidal ideation and more.
Part three: Navy veteran, a survivor of suicide and Military Sexual Trauma, helps veterans and others deal with trauma and related issues.
- Tango Alpha Lima