GI Film Festival Trailer Wars final: ‘The Colonel’ vs. ‘American Veteran’

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(UPDATE: Voting is CLOSED for the inaugural GI Film Festival Trailer Wars. Check militarytimes.com/gifilms before the May 24 festival for the announcement of the winner).

After more than a month of voting, thousands of ballots cast and 14 entrants shown the exit, two films will square off for the title of best trailer in this year’s GI Film Festival.

The final Trailer Wars showdown between “The Colonel” and “American Veteran” runs until Wednesday at noon Eastern. We’ve also included a third-place bout between “Charlie & Sam” and “A War Within,” so vote below, and share your favorite via social media. 

(Voting is CLOSED for the inaugural GI Film Festival Trailer Wars. Check militarytimes.com/gifilms before the May 24 festival for the announcement of the winner).

“The Colonel” cruised to a win over “A War Within” in semifinal action, while “American Veteran” had a tougher time with “Charlie & Sam.” Both films have been dominant throughout the contest, earning more than 90 percent of the votes cast in some of their victories.

All four trailers are below. See more trailers, and get more information on the GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C. (May 24-28) on our GI Film Festival page and at the festival’s official site.

“The Colonel” begins in 1969 when a heralded Marine, Hap Tasker, on the brink of promotion to Brigadier, is told he has a deficient heart that prevents him from future military service.
America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have created a new population of American veterans: service members so severely disabled they would have died in previous wars, but because of advanced medical technology they survive. We’ve figured out how to keep them alive and bring them back home, but what then?
In 2016, fewer than 5% of American WWII veterans remain alive. Follow 97 year old WWII Naval Aviator Charlie Edwards as he travels to meet his old squadronmate Sam Takis for a final farewell — the first time they’ll have seen each other since the end of the war.
This is the story of one combat veteran’s desperate fight against the self-destructive urges pulsing through a generation of men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

About 

Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.