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Monday: The day in photos

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Film vets come home

By Susan King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

War is hell. But even after the gunfire has ceased and the battles have been declared officially over, soldiers still have to deal with the ramifications of warfare. Men and women come home with post-traumatic stress, psychological disorders, missing limbs, burns or even blindness. No one who sees combat returns home the same person they were before they left for their tour of duty.

And Hollywood has explored the effects of combat in soldiers in such films as “The Best Years of Our Lives,” “Coming Home” and the new film “Stop-Loss,” which opens Friday.

“Stop-Loss,” directed and co-written by Kimberly Peirce ("Boys Don’t Cry”) was inspired by her brother’s experience in Iraq. The film revolves around the lives of three friends — Ryan Phillipe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum — who all return psychologically wounded to their small hometown after serving in the Iraq war.

Here’s a look at several films that examine the plight of troops returning home: