Thank you to all our Veterans

Remembering the men and women of the military on Veterans Day is an important tradition that allows us to express our gratitude for their sacrifice. It also brings into focus the importance of documenting soldiers’ experiences as they deal with the realities of war.

Today, as we honor our veterans, let’s also consider the soldiers who wrote their stories down. Those soldiers whose unique, first-hand accounts of war as filled with courage and resilience to provide us with an unfiltered view of what war is and what it means to preserve our freedom and keep us safe.

Writing also provides a profound outlet for the returning soldier to process the unimaginable events they experienced, and often helps them to reintegrate themselves into civilian life after their service has ended.

Let’s explore some of the ways writing about war helps veterans and the public they serve.

The Healing Power of Words: Veterans Who Write About War

For many veterans, writing serves as a vital outlet for processing the emotional and psychological complexities of their service. Through memoirs, poetry, and fiction, these “veterans as authors” offer unique perspectives on the realities of combat, the challenges of reintegration, and the emotional toll of military life. Imagine going through something as horrific as battle without an outlet for the emotional toll it takes on a human. Through their writing, veterans can navigate their experiences and express emotions that may be difficult to articulate otherwise.

Writing therapies are often encouraged for those veterans who feel the lasting mental impact of war. Coping with anxiety, trauma, and grief are sometime insurmountable on their own, and creating a space to reflect on their service can significantly impact a veteran in their healing journey.

Shaping the Public Narrative

Veterans who write also provide a true-to-life, insider’s account of the military, the battlefield, and the emotional toll of being a soldier. Offering their personal experience engages readers unlike other nonfiction accounts can. Even with no experience in battle, the average reader is able to tap into the emotionally charged experience and understand at a deeper level what it is like to be in mortal danger. This, in turn, shapes the general public’s view of war and encourages questioning and a deeper understanding of the conflict.

As these writers preserve their personal histories they also provide a crucial service to the public, helping them understand the broader context of military conflicts. Their stories provide firsthand accounts that enrich our collective understanding of war and its consequences.

A Community of Writing Veterans

Organizations like the Veterans Writing Project and Warrior Writers provide platforms for veterans to share their writing with the only community who can fully relate to their stories of war. Workshops, mentorship, and community support programs help veterans hone skills their writing while providing them a space to connect with others who share similar experiences.

It also opens the door for active listening. Because they share the same frame of reference, the veterans involved in these programs hear these stories with an understanding that goes far beyond what the general public can offer. They can offer advice, both in writing and for emotional healing, and create a culture of empathy and respect that is specifically suited for war veterans.

Celebrating the Powerful Impact of a Veteran’s Story

As we celebrate Veterans Day, we encourage readers to seek out and engage with the work of veteran authors. By doing so, we not only honor their service, but we also gain valuable insights into the human experience of war. From poetry to memoirs to novels, veterans are writing in various genres to explore themes of loss, identity, courage, and recovery. These works provide diverse perspectives on the nature of war and its impact on the human spirit.

This veterans day experience stepping into the boots of a soldier by reading a work by a military veteran, and show your support by garnering a deeper understanding of their experience at war.

The stories veterans tell us carry the weight of history with on their backs. This Veterans Day, we suggest these titles to explore the soldiers experience.

Chasing the Daylight
By JoAnna Rakowski
Grand Prize winner of the CIBA Military & Front Line Award

Chasing The Daylight by Joanna Rakowski is a revealing memoir that captures the rigor, intensity, and ferocity of military training in a salient style.

Ever wondered what it takes to become a soldier in one of the most powerful armies in the world?

Joanna Rakowski was born in Poland and grew up practicing dance from a young age, eventually becoming a professional classical ballet dancer and teacher. Upon her migration to the US in 1995 and the painful fallout with her friend and mentor, Chris, Joanna knew she needed to make a drastic change in her life. Her great awakening came when she decided to transform from a fragile and sensitive ballerina into a steadfast U.S. Army soldier, a goal that many close to her doubted she could accomplish.

Continue reading here…

Combat Missions
By Burl D. Harmon
First Place Winner of the Military and Front Line CIBA Award

Sometimes, a close and personal story can reveal the true weight of major historical events. Combat Missions, a memoir from WWII veteran Burl D. Harmon, achieves this by detailing how Europe’s vicious aerial battles shape a young boy’s entry to manhood.

On December 7, 1941, Harmon is summoned to his high school’s auditorium to hear President Roosevelt proclaim it as, “a day which will live in infamy…” Soon after, his draft notice arrives. Harmon’s junior college studies and work at the local Rexall drug store are put on hold as he joins the vast flood of young American men and women conscripted into military service. Leaving his small Iowa town and a family mostly sheltered from the grim realities of the outside world, he travels to New York City with people from every imaginable background.

Continue reading here…

Fly Safe: Letters from the Gulf War and Reflections from Back Home
By Vicki Cody
First Place Winner of the Military and Front Line CIBA Award

Not many people can capture the emotions that coincide with war, but Vicki Cody joins the ranks of those who do in her wartime memoir, Fly Safe: Letters from the Gulf War and Reflections from Back Home.

This powerful memoir shows us the behind-the-scenes lives of the women, children, and families left at home while their soldiers set off for war, bringing us close to their raw vulnerability.Fly Safe fascinates as it informs readers of what one wife experiences as her commander husband leads his battalion to the middle east.

Cody takes us back in time to the early 1990s when the first President Bush called up troops in an operation called “Desert Shield,” which turned into Desert Storm. She captures the events that led up to our first conflict in the middle east, but far from being strictly pedantic and historical, centers on the warmth, love, and fears that most of the wives were experiencing. Her letters from her husband – and her journal entries read like daily affirmations and blend well in telling this story.

Continue reading here…