Michael Simms: Serenity Park
Out of the chaos of the parrots’ desperate calls had emerged a texture of beautiful sound, and none of them would ever be lonely again.
Video: Let There Be Light (John Huston’s 1946 documentary about PTSD)
The film was intended to educate the public about post-traumatic stress disorder and its treatment among returning veterans, but its unscripted presentation of mental disability caused the U.S. government to suppress the film.
William Trowbridge: Gun Crazy, 1955
My father, despite the possibility of a court martial, plus a ban against shipping firearms from overseas, managed to get his service pistol and an assortment of souvenir German firearms shipped to our home in his Army foot locker
Adam Patric Miller: Labyrinth
in the yellow light of that narrow
carpeted hallway that led to my parents’
bedroom. there was a photo of
my great-grandfather Nestor Dreyfus
whose face escaped into my mother’s face
Video: One for All
Tony Drees actually considers himself to have “good fortune,” despite being born into an abusive household, surviving the deadliest bombing in the Gulf War, beating cancer, and having his leg amputated up to his hip.
Nina Padolf: In line at the food bank with my roommate a disabled vet in Pittsburgh
It’s our turn, they escort us around
each section as if we’re in prison
Video: Michelle Obama Rallies for Harris in Kalamazoo
Former first lady Michelle Obama spoke at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Michigan on October 26, 2024.
Richard Krawiec: The Eyes of Hiroshima
My father was a sailor in the first group of ships to land in Hiroshima after the atomic bombs were dropped in WWII.
Paul Christensen: Sailing the Seas of Memory
Five days into our sea voyage and we are in a hazy, slightly coolish mid-day. It’s another day and a half before we slow down and head for Southampton, England. Can’t wait.
Andrea Mazzarino: Americans in Pain
Confronting the Phantom Limbs of America’s Foreign Wars
Wayne Karlin: The Lotus Eaters
And so he returned to Ithaca:
walked naked from the sea
and saw his shadow
fall on the white marble
Jennifer Brookland: Holding On When Leaving Feels Like Letting Go
I spent four years in the military and remember it in fuzzy flashes. The little I do recall leaves me with a vague sense of awkward incompetence, confusion, and shame.
Kimberly Parish Davis: Forever and Ever
…they watched television or surfed around the Internet for news about what was going on in Palestine. There had been a lot of fighting—a lot of bombed out buildings. One website told about the attack at the School where Hanna’s little brother was killed, and she was probably dealing with that while Emma was news surfing.
Andrea Mazzarino: War as Terrorism
As a Navy spouse of more than 10 years and a therapist who specializes in treating military families and those fleeing foreign wars, I believe that the post-9/11 wars have finally begun to come home in a variety of ways, including how we think about violence
