Prose. My military life / Guy Robert Lubin -- Miserable grunts / Wayne Heath -- When identities collide : a Marine musician in the field / John Jay McNeal -- My medication problem / Franklin Means -- Route Georgia, "Tangi Valley, " Wardak Province, Afghanistan / Micheal Conn -- Baghdad babble ; CMOC / Deb Hamilton -- My life as a soldier in the "War on Terror" / Bradley Johnson -- My Bosnian deployment / Michael Reichert -- One night in Iraq / Travis L. Martin -- Put the truck in gear and drive / Micah Owen -- And justice for all / Jedediah Bowles -- True life experiences of an airman over the skies of the Middle East / Steve Johnson -- An epiphany from several nights of not being able to sleep / Christopher Gilbert -- Mama I'm coming home / Matthew Holland -- Poetry. Johnny got his gun: redux; or, A near life experience / Jeremy Cox -- Our eyes / Travis Absher -- Tree Darts ; Echo of wartime drudgery ; Steel-toed boots / Deb Hamilton -- Addiction ; Burrito ; Distractions ; Sunshine / Don King -- America is me / Luke Manuel -- A little boy with bananas ; My old friend / Travis L. Martin -- Artwork. The illumination ; The US Island, 2000-2010 (Cover)
Summary:
The Journal of Military Experience is a book of short stories, poems, and artwork created entirely by student veterans from across the armed services. Veterans attending Eastern Kentucky University came together to create this heartfelt, emotionally-packed book of military experiences, combat, and reflections about the difficulty of transitioning to civilian life. Stories from the Iraq War, Afghanistan War, Gulf War, Bosnia, and throughout the world capture the confused nature of wartime reality while the poetry works to illustrate the intense emotions felt therein. Veteran artists worked to produce an original cover depicting the strife that dominates America's center while young men and women are sent to fight in faraway lands. Original, accompanying sketches are the attempts of veterans to understand veterans through the visual arts, and the concluding, process art piece serves as an attempt to explore the fragmentation and reconstruction of the post-war mind. In what promises to be a continuous, important project, The Journal of Military Experience allows veterans to tell their stories in a cathartic, healing way while educating non-veterans about the nature of military service and the return home. All proceeds go toward funding subsequent editions as well as "Operation Veteran Success," a scholarship and retention program designed to keep student veterans on track toward new future--Amazon.com.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.