Interview with Jake Rademacher Part II
The following is the rest of my interview with Jake Rademacher:
Sidebar: We started talking about the differences between Iraq and Afghanistan and how stable Iraq has become. I expressed concern about my sons going to Afghanistan, and here’s what Jake had to say…
Jake: Iraq? Iraq is so stable right now. What you see are just the few insurgents blowing sh*t up. Here’s something for you. The Iraqis are not emigrating to the US nearly as much as before because their economy is now perceived to be in better shape that ours.
Me: Wow! That’s an eye-opener.
We also started talking about Ft. Bragg and my son going to Afghanistan
Me: Yes, my sons are headed to Bragg shortly.
Jake: With the 82nd?
Me: Yes, they both graduated from ROTC last May and have been finishing up their continued training since they were commissioned and are headed to Bragg within the next several weeks. My son, Matt, next week, and my son, Sean, when he finishes Ranger School.
Jake: Wow, that is really cool. Isaac did Ranger training.
Me: Yes, I know, I saw the patch on his uniform in the movie.
Interview with Jake Rademacher from Brothers at War
I recently saw the Brothers at War movie in Chicago when it opened on March 13th. I happened to be in Chicago for a business conference and the theater was 2 blocks away from my hotel so I knew I wasn’t going to miss it.
This past Friday, I had the privilege of speaking with the director, Jake Rademacher, in a phone interview and wow, talk about a guy who has poured his soul into this movie.
We talked for nearly 45 minutes, so I’ll post this in two sections. Jake was gracious enough to give me his mom’s contact information as I had a question about her. She and I have been trying to catch up with each other since Friday.
Me: Jake, what is the one main thing you want people to learn and understand from your experience in going over to Iraq to see what is happening over there and especially with your brothers?
Jake: In making Brothers at War, I wanted to give the public a window to what is happening on the front lines, something that they can see on the day to day basis and also for the people who are fighting the day to day war… So, now that people can see them on a personal basis, how they are living their lives, why are they are doing what they are doing.
Emily Got Her Ears Pierced
Yesterday was a really fun day. We visited with some friends at their church, went out for brunch and then took Emily to the mall to get her ears pierced.
She hadn’t really said much about getting her ears pierced until her friend from school got her ears pierced for her birthday.
“Mom, is it going to hurt?”
Tough question. It’s been decades since my ears were pierced and I told Emily I didn’t get mine done until I was 12. Back then, they did one ear at a time, THEN put the earrings in.
These days, they do both at once, and the tool they use actually pierces the ear with the earrings. Nice! She picked out her birthstone, which is blue topaz, although it looked more green than blue.
Regardless, they are very cute and she looks adorable in them! It was tough to get a good close-up since they are so small on her ears The next six week’s ritual is making sure we take care of them 3 times a day by using a special antiseptic. This is will be great for her to learn how to do this herself.
She was a bit worried that they would fall out when she sleeps, so I reassured her they wouldn’t. She’s such a little cutie!




