As the cameras rolled, Stacy Pearsall sat facing three former POWs as they disclosed intimate details about their ordeals.
Pearsall did not recoil at the revelations. Rather, she made eye contact and listened, determined to make sure that her fellow military veterans felt heard. That has been Pearsall’s mission since she developed the concept and began hosting the PBS show “After Action” – which involves candid conversations with veterans about their experiences before, during and after their military service.
“[We allow] people a safe space to just talk,” Pearsall told Military.com. “Being able to talk to someone who understands, without having to constantly translate or belabor … There is something about the connectivity between veterans that’s unique that isn’t necessarily the same as a veteran-to-civilian conversation.”
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Former POWs Robert Certain, Melissa Coleman and Shoshana Johnson appeared on the Season 3 premiere episode of “After Action,” which is scheduled for broadcast Monday. (Check your local listings for times.)
Committed to Telling Veterans’ Stories
Before there was “After Action,” Pearsall created the Veterans Portrait Project in 2008. That same year, the former Air Force photographer was medically discharged from the military after three combat deployments. Struggling with what she left behind and what was to come, Pearsall consulted with doctors.
Far from encouraging, Pearsall said, they suggested she give up photography. Perhaps even worse, her doctors advised her not to be around horses anymore. That was a non-starter for someone who has been around the animals since girlhood and now trains and breeds horses.
“I wanted to fight back against that and find a purpose to keep going and a purpose to live,” Pearsall said.
Pearsall found her purpose in traveling to every state as part of the Veterans Portrait Project. Since it started, she has interviewed and photographed thousands of veterans, spotlighting their stories for a wider audience.
“After Action” became a natural extension to the Veterans Portrait Project. Pearsall brought the concept for a television program to a director at South Carolina ETV, the state’s public broadcasting network.
They hashed it out, and the show got the greenlight. All episodes are filmed on Pearsall’s farm in South Carolina, providing a welcoming environment for the visiting veterans.
Pearsall is committed to shining an empathetic lens on their challenges. “Many of the veterans who have come on our show, their stories are living proof that life goes on,” she said. “There is life after the military and some really exciting things on the horizon that are yet to come.”
The Dog Who Changed Pearsall’s Life
Charlie, a beloved 9-year-old black labrador who became Pearsall’s service dog, sometimes makes a cameo on “After Action.”
Their pairing has aided greatly in Pearsall’s recovery. As she struggled in her post-military life, Pearsall considered a service animal but said she always felt another veteran needed it more. When she sustained a seizure, she realized something had to change.
While attending a VFW convention, she met a representative for America’s VetDogs – a nonprofit whose service animals improve the mobility and independence of veterans. That conversation reconfigured Pearsall’s thinking.
“Don’t diminish your need for the sake of others,” the rep advised Pearsall. “If you need it, you need it. Apply.”
Around that same time, NBC’s “Today” show profiled the training of a dog to become a service animal. For a year, Pearsall and her husband watched the energetic dog’s development as part of America’s VetDogs’ “Puppy with a Purpose” program.
Viewers named the puppy Charlie, and as his training neared its end, the timeline coincidentally aligned with when Pearsall was ready to receive her service dog. The two were paired in 2017, and they have been inseparable ever since.
“Having Charlie was going to offer me the freedom I really wanted, but also now I couldn’t hide my disabilities from people,” Pearsall said. “Charlie basically wore a vest that was a billboard, saying that I am different in a way.”
How ‘After Action’ Is Making an Impact
Not every veteran has a Charlie in their lives, though. “After Action” hopes to fill that void in its own way, and there is anecdotal evidence that the show is succeeding.
Pearsall related two stories to illustrate that point.
In one, a nurse at a rest home was trying to calm a restless veteran when she turned on the television. “After Action” happened to be on, and the vet relaxed. They watched not only that episode but started to stream others, Pearsall said.
In the other, she described how a suicidal veteran in Canada sought help a day after coming across an episode of “After Action.” He might have done so anyway, but a potential tragedy was averted.
Those examples gratify Pearsall, and it’s all because of veterans willing to tell their truths.
“We aren’t broken,” she said. “We’re human beings that went through different experiences and are finding our way and our path.”
You can stream episodes from the first two seasons of “After Action” by going to the show’s website.
Veterans and service members experiencing a mental health emergency can call the Veteran Crisis Line, 988 and press 1. Help also is available by text, 838255, and via chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net.
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