To Heal a Nation

Eric Roberts has a certain hypnotic quality when he's good, and in this film he's exceptionally good as Jan Scruggs, a Vietnam vet who runs into a another vet one night and neither can remember the name of a fallen comrade. In Scruggs' mind, this offhand conversation grows into the conception of a memorial that lists all the names of the dead soldiers from the Vietnam War. The story is told in a sincere, straighforward manner that gathers momentum towards the dramatic opening ceremony of the finished memorial, and is held together by Roberts' energetic performance but amplified by the supporting characters. Despite obstacles along the way, including the tantrums of Ross Perot who doesn't like the chosen design and threatens to scuttle the whole plan, people show up at a fundraiser to donate money and their support to get the memorial built. The film is not a tearjerker, but by virtue of its subject matter I found myself crying at intervals; just keep a handkerchief handy.

This is a film that should be viewed at intervals, just to keep in mind that despite the unpopularity of the war and all the protests, men and women did die in that war and they deserve to be remembered. It's not on any medium at the moment, but it would be nice to see a VHS or DVD presentation of it so that everyone can see it.

Heartfelt performance by Eric Roberts as Jan Scruggs whose vision of a memorial in Washington DC is portrayed with dignity and pride. This undertaking was not without stiff opposition from both politicians and Veterans. The portrayal of Scruggs struggle to reach a compromise that eventually won the day, is quite informative. The film has a number of special moments that are not easily forgotten. A stone cutter's tearful breakdown upon discovering she is carving the name of her baby brother is particularly moving. "To Heal a Nation" should be seen in order to fully understand the Memorial itself. This is an excellent TV film. - MERK

Eric Roberts should have won the highest award their is for his part in this. I was 15 years old when my class visited Washington D.C. and they were just starting to build the memorial. I was too young to think about all that went into the making of it all. I remember the war, but very little and I remember all the broken men who came back and had the burden of surviving the aftermath, including my two uncles. When I saw this movie, I was en captured by the entire theme of it as I watched the bitterness of the vets complain about benefits, which is something I can relate to all too well to Jan's simple request of a simple memorial to the rallying of support to the people realizing that their anger was terrible misplaced in these young men to the final building to the actual opening. It was all very emotional for me.

I do not understand why it has not been shown again on Memorial Day or Veterans Day. I thought there were many tender moments in the film such as when Jan received the letter from the kid who sent him five dollars to have their father's name that inspired him to have ALL the names put on, to the winner of the contest to construct the memorial who just happened (as I remember to be) a young Asian girl who was adopted because of all of the orphans (I think.) And the scene where the engravers where engraving the names and the one engraver burst out into tears because it she came to her brothers name.

The final scenes were about when the memorial was open and the people came and when the white elderly lady came and the black vet asked her who she knew and she said her son and how he held her hand and helped her with the flowers she wanted to put there and there was no thought of race there, just humanity. I think one of my favorite parts was when the brother was there to find his brother's name only to see him there after 20 years to find out that he wasn't dead, but just lost for so many years.

This movie has remained in me for many years and I would love to see it again. I think that the title speaks for itself because this nation needed to heal from the Vietnam war and we needed to forgive ourselves and the young men and women who were over there and I think the movie did what it set out to do. I think it is very important to point out that this was done through the people and not through our government, which makes it all the more special.

I completely agree that this wonderful film should be available on DVD. Not only does Eric Roberts hit his career peak in a searing and unforgettable performance, but the movie commemorates the monumental achievement Jan Scruggs made in devising and funding the Vietnam memorial. I was a fierce anti-Vietnam War protester, but I was thrilled that the memorial was created. This is an important movie despite certain melodramatic excesses, and deserves to be made viewable by a large audience. It amazes me that so many useless movies are on DVD when essential films like this one gather dust and wait for the very occasional television showing. In any case, here's hoping "To Heal a Nation" survives.