WASHINGTON, DC – Former Green Beret Scott Mann knows how to tell war stories. In fact, that skill saved his life.
A 23-year Army veteran, he returned from Afghanistan in 2013, but the adrenaline rush of Afghan villagers and special forces working together day in and day out was gone and he realized the U.S. had left them behind. Tormented by feelings of guilt, he soon realized that he was stuck in a “vicious cycle.”
“I felt like I was living in purgatory, not wanting to live and not being able to die,” the Florida father recently told the Post.
This deeply dejected feeling came to a head 18 months later when his young son found Mann crouching alone in a closet with a pistol in his hand, about to do the unthinkable.
“If my son hadn’t come home from school, I don’t think I would be here,” Mann said.
The ex-soldier realizes that in order to return to suburban civilian life, he must find a way to process all his experiences. It was then that he discovered his creativity and wrote a play aimed at comforting veterans suffering from the aftermath of the chaotic and dangerous US withdrawal from Afghanistan and helping the families who love them.
“Last out” Coming to Staten Island’s St. George Theater for a one-night-only performance Tuesday tells stories of the heartbreak and healing that veterans face as they return home from war, feeling alone and alienated from others.
“For several years after leaving the military, I found it very difficult to know my purpose and passion in life. I gradually became cut off from the outside world,” Mann said. “I also realized that many civilians have no idea what it means to serve in modern warfare.
“When I started telling my story, I finally started to see light and hope,” he said.
The play follows fictional Green Beret Danny Patton, who, after being mortally wounded, ascends to Valhalla, the afterlife of fallen warrior heroes in Norse mythology. The character, who is a combination of three sergeants Mann lost in the war, is “stranded” until many important people in his life come to visit, including a friend who died in the 9/11 attacks. On top of the Pentagon will not be able to proceed to.
“[The people] It follows Danny’s life from joining Special Forces, to 9/11, to his marriage, to having children, to deployment after deployment, until he finally realizes what he’s holding on to and lets go. But not before the audience leaves. The whole ride,” Mann said. “It is an immersive work that provides an experiential experience of modern warfare, both on the battlefield and on the home front.”
The show has been performed several times over the years with cast members including veterans and military families. But the work took on new meaning after America’s disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan left thousands of Afghan allies stranded under Taliban control.
“Right now, the focus is on healing the emotional wounds of war and helping veterans, military families and Gold Stars realize that what they do is worth it.” he said.
As Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, thousands of veterans who fought there from the past two decades of war left behind many allies left behind in the U.S.’s hasty evacuation mission to watch them fall. I witnessed it and began to feel an emotional response. .
Mr. Mann started a volunteer group, Task Force Pineapple, which brought together approximately 50 American veterans to rescue more than 1,000 Afghan allies between August 15, 2021 and August 30, 2021. arranged.
Mann’s work continues today, bringing “Last Out” to new audiences in New York. Tuesday’s performance is sponsored by the Tunnels to Towers Foundation and will honor the memory of 9/11 first responders and Gold Star families, or relatives of fallen military personnel, who died in the war sparked by the terrorist attack. do.
“We are honored to bring “Last Out,” a powerful depiction of sacrifice and sacrifice, to New York City.
We salute the courage of our military service members and their families,” Frank Schiller, Tunnel to Towers chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “This performance is more than just theater. It is a tribute to our nation’s unspoken heroes: the spouses, children, and comrades of those in the service.”
Played by Stephen Schiller, the brother of a heroic firefighter who died helping to rescue others on 9/11, Schiller said the play is a tough but necessary conversation about grief, sacrifice, and the many costs of a long war. He said he hopes this will serve as an opportunity to encourage people to do more.
“This play honors the unwavering courage and sacrifice of service members and their families,” he told the Post. “‘Last Out’ focuses on these sacrifices and we hope it gives Gold Star families a new way to talk about the service and sacrifice of their loved ones.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
