Independent Lens
Camp Widow
At Camp Widow, every attendee, volunteer, speaker, and staff member has lost their partner; together they find camaraderie and unexpected joy.
Make Peace or Die: Honor The Fallen
A Marine returns from Afghanistan consumed by survivors’ guilt and sets out on a journey of healing for the families of the fallen and for himself.
- Series
- Independent Lens
- Premiere Date
- November 11, 2024
- Length
- 90 minutes
Director
Manny Marquez
Manny Marquez grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he currently lives with his wife and six children. He is of Mexican and Native American (Choctaw) descent. His first feature Psychopath was released in 2014, followed by the award-winning short Operation Allie. Manny is the director of Make Peace or Die: Honor the Fallen, his second feature film.
Producer
Anthony Marquez
Anthony Marquez (producer) served in the Marine Corps from 2007 to 2012. He deployed to Sangin, Afghanistan in 2011. His unit, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, suffered great losses, with 17 men killed in action. Make Peace or Die—Honor the Fallen documents his journey of remembrance for those 17 fallen Marines and their Gold Star families.
Producer
Ben Leiser
Ben Leiser (executive producer) has worked in film for almost three decades. Raised outside of Chicago, Ben was from the singular Jewish family in the area. He met Manny in 2003, and they soon became filmmaking partners. It was during the filming of Psychopath that Ben was acquainted with Anthony and they've been close friends ever since.
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The Film
Anthony Marquez achieved his boyhood dream of becoming a Marine, following in the footsteps of his uncle. In 2011, Anthony was deployed to Sangin, Afghanistan, where his unit, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, ultimately lost 17 Marines. He was haunted by their deaths and returned home to the United States with a desire to honor them. He decided to carve a battlefield cross for each of these Gold Star families, a designation given to those whose relatives died while serving in a time of conflict. From 2016 to 2019, he hand-delivered all 17 crosses.
Anthony’s goal was complete, but his work was not yet over. In 2021, the 10-year anniversary of his unit’s deployment, Anthony set out in an RV with his filmmaker brother to revisit all of the families. They wanted to offer each family a way of memorializing and telling the world about their loved ones. Along the way, Anthony reconnected with other Marines who had also known the departed—the fallen members of a battalion whose motto remains “Make Peace or Die.” This journey to tell the stories of the fallen helped not only the families, but also Anthony on his own path to healing.
