Clarendon soldier among those featured in documentary

A special screening will be held in Amarillo next week of the documentary film Citizen Soldier, which features Clarendon native Colt Floyd.

The screening will be held in honor of the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on December 7 at the Veteran Resource Center’s Happy State Bank Virgil Patterson Auditorium at 701 S. Taylor. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the movie starts at 6:30.

Citizen Soldier tells the true story of a group of young Soldiers and their life-changing tour of duty in Afghanistan. Using real footage from multiple cameras, including helmet cams, these Citizen Soldiers give the audience an intimate view into the chaos and horrors of combat and, in the process, display their bravery and valor under the most hellish of conditions.

Floyd and some of the other soldiers in the film will be in attendance next week and invite you to share this experience with them.

SSG Colt Floyd is a 2001 Clarendon High School graduate who attended Southern Nazarene University before enlisting in the Oklahoma Army National Guard after 9/11.  He spent about 12 years serving as an infantryman and worked full time for the Oklahoma Guard in recruiting and retention, and served as an instructor trainer for the states Pre-Mobilization Training Assistance Unit.

SSG Floyd deployed twice to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart upon the completion of his most recent 2011-2012 tour.

Citizen Soldier follows Floyd’s unit during his last tour in Afghanistan.

“This film has aroused several different thoughts and emotions from me,” Floyd writes. “Early on I really didn’t want to participate in it due to the deployment having such an impact on my life.  Losing (Army Sgt. Mycal L.) Prince and my other men being hurt/wounded devastated me.  I feel like I’ve been picking up the pieces ever since.  With that being said I also know Prince would want what’s best for us all.  And that’s to live our lives in a positive light and under the best circumstances possible.

Floyd says it’s important to raise awareness and have an up close and personal look at what combat is like in the line of fire. The chaos, he says, will show the American people what it’s all about.

“It will help them to understand that even after the soldier returns home, the battle doesn’t exactly stop.  This film gives me a whole new sense of pride and I look forward to the response it receives from the tireless hours put into it to make it possible.”

For those who cannot attend next week’s screening, the movie is available for sale on DVD through Amazon.com. A preview video of the movie can be seen at https://vimeo.com/180936857.