And the vets came home

A selection of movies that focus on the return from duty:

In the Valley of Elah (2007)

Tommy Lee Jones stars as a career officer and Vietnam veteran who has to fight both civilian and military police investigating the death of his son just months after the latter returned from duty in Iraq. Directed by Paul Haggis.

Coming Home (1978)

Jane Fonda, Bruce Dern and Jon Voight star in a love triangle centred on a woman whose husband is serving in Vietnam. While volunteering at a veterans' hospital, she falls for a wheelchair-bound soldier and eventually has to make a decision. Directed by Hal Ashby.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

John Frankenheimer directed this thriller about a Korean War hero who returns to a seemingly stable civilian life - unaware that he has been programmed by Communist spymasters to be the perfect assassin. Laurence Harvey, Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury co-star.

The Best Years of our Lives (1946)

The multiple Oscar-winner follows three Second World War veterans who return to their small-town homes to discover that their lives and their families have been irrevocably changed. Director William Wyler, who would go on to direct Ben-Hur, lost much of his hearing as a result of wartime action.

The Big Parade (1926)

A silent film directed by King Vidor, it follows an American soldier sent to France in the First World War and his life at home after he loses his leg in battle.