--- description: The Last Patrol, Sebastian Junger’s third and final chapter in a trilogy of films about war and its devastating effects on soldiers, came to fruition... title: HBO's Last Patrol Premieres image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e0554d1aed2f1c4/698769940b72e394e26dc01f/the-last-patrol-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Battle-Scarred: Sebastian Junger's _Last Patrol_ Premieres on HBO by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/) ## Olivier Laurent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2014 5:17 PM CUT  People wait for the bus close to Penn Station in New York City. Two combat vets and two journalists (and a dog) walked along the Amtrak rail lines from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia to Pittsburgh over the course of a year. Through the heat and summer and the bitter cold of winter, sleeping in the woods and under bridges and in abandoned buildings, buying food as they went and bathing in rivers and cooking on open fires and getting their water from streams, these four men set out to encounter America. All of them had been in a lot of combat, all of them had lost close friends, and all of them had decided to come home. The question that they were trying to answer - over the course of four hundred miles - is why that is so hard to do. People wait for the bus close to Penn Station in New York City. Two combat vets and two journalists (and a dog) walked along the Amtrak rail lines from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia to Pittsburgh over the course of a year. Through the heat and summer and the bitter cold of winter, sleeping in the woods and under bridges and in abandoned buildings, buying food as they went and bathing in rivers and cooking on open fires and getting their water from streams, these four men set out to encounter America. All of them had been in a lot of combat, all of them had lost close friends, and all of them had decided to come home. The question that they were trying to answer - over the course of four hundred miles - is why that is so hard to do.Guillermo Cervera—HBO by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/) ## Olivier Laurent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2014 5:17 PM CUT _The Last Patrol_, Sebastian Junger’s third and final chapter in a trilogy of films about war and its devastating effects on soldiers, came to fruition after he and documentary photographer Tim Hetherington made plans to walk from Washington D.C. to New York City along railroad lines. The trip would mimic the long patrols both men were accustomed to when covering the war in Afghanistan, on embeds with the U.S. military. The only difference being that they wouldn’t be shot at, wouldn’t have to run for cover, wouldn’t fall into an ambush. Their trip never came to be. In April 2011, Hetherington was killed in Misrata, Libya, while covering the people’s uprising against their dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.  Washington, D.C. Amtrak Guillermo Cervera—HBO Hetherington’s death shocked an entire industry of journalists and photographers, and convinced some of them to give up on war, Junger included. This year, Junger went on that “last patrol”, reigniting the plans he had made with his friend and colleague to walk along America’s railways. Accompanied by combat veterans Brendan O’Byrne, who appeared in Junger’s _Restrepo_, and Dave Roels, as well as Spanish photographer Guillermo Cervera, who witnessed Hetherington’s death, he walked from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia and to Pittsburgh. Together, the four men, all war veterans in their own ways, discussed “why combat is so incredibly hard to give up,” they say. The resulting documentary, which chronicles their “last patrol” premieres on Monday, November 10 on HBO. --- **_The Last Patrol_** _by Sebastian Junger is available on HBO and HBO GO from November 10 at PM (CET)._ _An exhibition of_ [**_Guillermo Cervera_**](http://guillermocervera.photoshelter.com/ "undefined")_’s images from_ The Last Patrol _and from 20 years of documenting armed conflicts and social issues around the world is on show at_ [_Anastasia Photo_](http://www.anastasia-photo.com/ "undefined") _in New York City._ **_Phil Bicker_**_, who edited this photo essay, is a senior photo editor at TIME._ **_Olivier Laurent_** _is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on_ [_Twitter_](http://twitter.com/olivierclaurent "undefined") _and_ [_Instagram_](http://instagram.com/olivierclaurent "undefined")[_@olivierclaurent_](http://timethemoment.wordpress.com/mentions/olivierclaurent/ "undefined") ---  People wait for the bus close to Penn Station in New York City. Two combat vets and two journalists (and a dog) walked along the Amtrak rail lines from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia to Pittsburgh over the course of a year. Through the heat and summer and the bitter cold of winter, sleeping in the woods and under bridges and in abandoned buildings, buying food as they went and bathing in rivers and cooking on open fires and getting their water from streams, these four men set out to encounter America. All of them had been in a lot of combat, all of them had lost close friends, and all of them had decided to come home. The question that they were trying to answer - over the course of four hundred miles - is why that is so hard to do. Guillermo Cervera—HBO  New York City Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Somewhere in Pennsylvania Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Restaurant in Chester, PA Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Baptist church in south D.C. Guillermo Cervera—HBO  New York City Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Amish kids somewhere in Lancaster, PA Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Somewhere in the outskirts of Philadelphia Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Washington D.C., Presidents Church, Saint John's Episcopal Church Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Train somewhere in PA Guillermo Cervera—HBO  A woman hangs out in front of her house in Baltimore Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Power plant, Wilmington, DE Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Baltimore Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Daisy dog plays with a stick in the Delaware River Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Familly at their house in Baltimore Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Parking lot somewhere in Pennsylvania Guillermo Cervera—HBO  A bar somewhere in Abingdon, Maryland Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Delaware River Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Church in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia Guillermo Cervera—HBO  Children play in a playground in Harrisburg, PA Guillermo Cervera—HBO ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3594997/battle-scarred-sebastian-jungers-last-patrol-premieres-on-hbo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3594997/battle-scarred-sebastian-jungers-last-patrol-premieres-on-hbo/"},"headline":"Battle-Scarred: Sebastian Junger's Last Patrol Premieres on HBO","datePublished":"2014-11-10T17:17:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:49.357Z","description":"The Last Patrol, Sebastian Junger’s third and final chapter in a trilogy of films about war and its devastating effects on soldiers, came to fruition...","url":"https://time.com/3594997/battle-scarred-sebastian-jungers-last-patrol-premieres-on-hbo/","keywords":["LightBox","Afghanistan","HBO","war","Libya","photography","On Our Radar","Tim Hetherington"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e0554d1aed2f1c4/698769940b72e394e26dc01f/the-last-patrol-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivier Laurent","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/olivier-laurent/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e0554d1aed2f1c4/698769940b72e394e26dc01f/the-last-patrol-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"People wait for the bus close to Penn Station in New York City. 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