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HEIDI COLLINS: They have survived war, but many veterans face personal battles after coming home. CNN's Michael Ware has that story now from New York.

MICHAEL WARE: Yes, Heidi, more than one and a half [million] Americans have already served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as you'll see in this film that I shot during the battle of Fallujah in 2004, for so many of them those wars will always be with them.


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WARE: And of those veterans who have come home, there are hundreds of thousands of National Guardsmen and soldiers who have now left the military and are back in their community, and for them, the struggle to transition home from war continues. Heidi.

COLLINS: It's often a really, really tough transition -- that's right, Michael -- from being in the military to back to civilian life. So many things need to be relearned, things a lot of them don't even think about when they're over--with that focus of battle on their minds. We sure do appreciate it. Great story, Michael Ware. Thanks so much.