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Media legend Phil Donahue is in Salt Lake City promoting a documentary he wrote, directed and produced.
We sat down with him and found him as passionate as ever, this time about the War in Iraq and a young soldier who survived his injuries.
Less than a week after he arrived in Iraq, a bullet struck Tomas Young's spine, paralyzing him from the chest down. He went from soldier to anti-war activist during the difficult physical and emotional adjustment to his new life.
Donahue, the man credited with creating "talk television" and said we should never be afraid to talk about anything, is now telling this story.
"We've never been this close to this kind of catastrophic injury, and it does blow you back," Donahue said.
He added, "Thousands and thousands of people have sacrificed for this war, thousands and thousands of families, and we have a responsibility to know what they've done for us, to see their pain, to maybe even feel it ourselves."
Donahue says because Tomas Young will face immense challenges for the rest of his life, the film's subtitle says it: "Cheating death is only the beginning."
"Body of War" screens tonight at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center at 6:30 p.m. and will air on Veterans Day on the Sundance Channel.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
