On the eighth anniversary of 9/11, AMC’s Brot and Taylor, both Iraq vets, will share scenes with especial significance to Brot’s portrayer, J.R. Martinez, a real-life vet. He shared his thoughts with Digest.
“Ever since Brot and Taylor split ways, she’s been heavily involved with Tad and hiding the baby and all of that, and ever since Brot quit working at the hospital as an orderly, he’s just kind of been floating around, confused because he has no girl and no job and he’s just trying to figure out what’s next for him. September 11 came around, and it’s something that hit him and he wanted to find her and just hang out. At first, Taylor doesn’t remember that it’s September 11th. But then together, they remember being in the military, and one of the reasons they joined was what happened on that horrible day. So it’s nice for them to sit back and remember.
“It was really personal for me. It’s personal for everybody because we all witnessed that day, whether you were in New York or saw it on TV, but for me, that was one of the major reasons I joined the military. I was injured because of what happened on that day and my life completely changed. So it was very personal to get the opportunity to be on a national TV show to talk about that day. It was a great scene in terms of being able to tap into that reality. It’s another reminder of how you have to live every moment to the fullest because you just never know. And that’s what Brot and Taylor do; they remember the people that they lost while they were serving in Iraq together. The anniversary really hits home for Brot because he served with so many great men and women in his unit and he did lose many friends over there. He’s been able to survive it and move on, as difficult as it’s been, and now he’s living for those men and women who didn’t get to come back home. It amazes me how well ALL MY CHILDREN is able to tap into reality, to be in touch with the world. Whether I stay on the show or not, I will always applaud ALL MY CHILDEN for that. It’s important to remind America that eight years ago, there was an attack and thousands of innocent people died, and that’s why there are brave men and women that are willing to go overseas to stop that from happening.”
