Home of the Brave

A small town struggling, like many communities, with the question of how to remain vital and vibrant in the 21st century, took on another problem altogether: that of the difficult homecoming of Iraq, Afghanistan and other war veterans. Melanie Kline knows a little boy who tenses when his family goes to the airport. He’s sure his father is headed for another deployment in Afghanistan. The child’s father is dearer to him and his world a little less safe, since his country went to war on terror. No one in Kline’s own family has been caught up in the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, but she has come to see that it affects her entire community. And she has rallied her small town to respond. Kline founded the Welcome Home Montrose project to offer mental health support, job and housing advice and other aid for returning warriors who are burdened by memories of war and uncertain of what their homecoming will mean. What she did not count on was how much the men and women who had served their country still had to give. Home of the Brave is about community and military service, and the possibilities born of creativity and commitment.