To the editor: Most people will remember Phil Donahue from his daytime talk show, but my meeting with Phil was to honor him, Ellen Spiro and Tomas Young for their influential anti-war documentary, “Body of War.” In 2007, the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club presented all three with awards for political courage. (“Phil Donahue, Pioneering Host of Long-Running Daytime Talk Show ‘Donahue,’ Dies at 88,” obituary, Aug. 20)
And what courage, on the part of Tomas, so seriously injured in Iraq just a week after arriving, and on the part of his mother, Cathy Smith, who helped him recover after his return home.
Their bond and the struggles faced by Tomás, paralyzed from the chest down, were captured so movingly by Ellen and Phil, interspersed with documentation of politicians so willing to participate in the war, a war built on lies.
I doubt anyone can watch “Body of War” and not cry. It should be required viewing before any politician so quickly sends our young men and women off to fight.
Alice Lynn, Pacific Palisades
