I loved photographing the schoolchildren in the Memorial Day parade, when recognition of a parent in the crowd-filled sidewalks initiated a loss of composure and a squall of wildly waving hands.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is the modern manifestation of what we have long recognized as the effect that war can have on a soldier’s mental health. (It was called “war neurosis” during the French Revolution, “soldier’s heart” in the Civil War, and “shell shock” in World War I.)
In Orient, it is the citizens themselves who march—not bystanders, but celebrants in a quiet (except for the sirens) ritual. That it continues with so little change has everything to do, I believe, with an emphasis on remembrance and participation.
The very term "memorial" ought to compel us to remember. "Bringing Mulligan Home" tells the complex stories of 12 marines who fought on Okinawa during "the good war."
Writing poetry does not have to be a solitary endeavor.
Last week, the author attended a clinical training Program at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). What made it special for her was attending with veteran and consummate veterans’ advocate Susan Avila-Smith.
Nearly fifty years ago, Sgt. Myrtle Vacirca-Quinn was an intelligence officer, often working behind enemy lines. Watch her, this week, as she finally receives a “Freedom Salute – Certificate of Appreciation” from the Army she served long ago.