Homefront Video -

The tape felt heavier than plastic and magnetic ribbon should. Leo drove home, made instant coffee, and dug out an old VCR from the basement. The machine whirred to life with a reluctant groan.

“I never knew how to show it. But I filmed all of this because I wanted you to know what I saw when I looked at home. I saw you . All of you. The way the light hit your mother’s hair. The way you’d run to the door when the car pulled in. Those moments—they were my front line. My real war was coming back to them.” Homefront Video

The answers were mundane, profound, and heartbreaking. Ruth talking about the first time Frank held Leo in the hospital. Grandma mentioning the smell of rain on dry earth. Even little Leo, asked by his father’s off-screen voice, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The tape felt heavier than plastic and magnetic