AS YOU WERE: THE MILITARY REVIEW, Vol. 17 Released

MEA is proud to announce the release of As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 17. This issue features the work of more than thirty writers, poets, and artists from all over the world.

The wide range of backgrounds represented herein is indicative of the multilayered impact of military service at home and abroad. Alongside the veterans of combat and peactime are the sons, daughters, grandchildren, and spouses of servicemembers, those whose lives were forged by armed conflicts and the threat thereof whether they signed up for it or not. 

These writers and artists share, too, a common sense of dedication. All of them engaged in difficult, challenging work, either on their own or with our editors, creating draft after draft until their messages were honed to a fine enough point to be heard – and felt – loud and clear. These works allow readers and viewers a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the human condition in military contexts. 

Please take some time to read through the extraordinary works in As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 17. We thank you! 

AS YOU WERE: THE MILITARY REVIEW, Vol. 16 Released

MEA is proud to announce the release of As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 16. This edition contains nearly thirty works in literary fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and artwork.

The writers, artists, and poets represented in this volume span the full spectrum of those impacted by military service – combat veterans, family members, or citizens who’ve felt the pull of history. They’ve all contributed fine additions to the literary and artistic canon surrounding military service.

Their work examines age-old questions and unravels new threads of thought. How have combat veterans of the Global War on Terror transitioned into parenting roles? What happens when romance is found while recovering from physical war wounds in a military hospital? What was it like for a little girl whose father returned from Vietnam a changed man? What was it like for a girl whose father did not come home from Vietnam at all? How did the US military’s policy of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” affect LGTBQ+ service members?

By exploring the works in this volume, readers will learn about some of these realities. Perhaps they will gain deeper understandings of the human condition generally, or as it pertains to military service specifically. Maybe a conversation will be struck up that wouldn’t have occurred before. And we can hope that it may inspire others to add their own voices to a robust conversation playing out in literature and the arts.

We’re glad to have the opportunity to share As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 16 with you, whatever its impact may be.

AS YOU WERE: THE MILITARY REVIEW, Vol. 12 Released

Military Experience and the Arts is proud to announce the release of As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 12 on Memorial Day, 2020. This edition contains fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and artwork from more than fifty writers, poets, and artists. There are debut works as well as the latest from more experienced artists. Several have worked with our editors to refine their works and enhance their skills and understanding in their chosen genres.

Together, the works contain material from WWI, WWII, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the Global War on Terror. There are voices and visions from the perspectives of veterans, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and neighbors and colleagues. Engaging with these works helps us bridge the gap between military and civilian cultures. Indeed, these works prove that those bridges are  built by creative expression.

We invite you to check out As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 12 and share this edition. Thank you!

Keeping It Lively

by Michael Lund

Following a Military Experience and the Arts writing seminar for military, veterans, and family this fall, Blackstone, Virginia resident Thomas Bragg has produced a memorial booklet about his friend, Edward Bartholomew Lama.

Thomas and Eddie served in the same unit in Vietnam in 1968-69. While Tom came home to Southside Virginia, Eddie, a native of Mundelein, Illinois, was killed in action on 31 March 1969. Thomas portrays their friendship though pictures and story.

Working with workshop director, Michael Lund, also a veteran, Thomas was able to contact members of the Lama family in Illinois and Wisconsin. They sent photographs taken in Vietnam by Thomas, which had been sent home by Eddie to his family. Eddie had done the same thing, snapping photos of Thomas that he then mailed to relatives in Virginia.

The Lama family also sent a copy of an article from the 28 April 1969 Newsweek magazine that mentioned Eddie’s death, “A Quiet Week in Vietnam.” Two others were specifically identified from the 204 killed in those seven days.

Gordon Chaplin, the Newsweek journalist who wrote about casualties in 1969, is now a celebrated writer and conservationist. He wrote to MEA that, “It’s amazing and wonderful that you’re following up [on the story] after all these years.” Reading what Bragg has written about Lama’s personality, Chaplin added: “It was a long time ago, but I do remember that Lama’s story was by far the most dramatic of the three that I included in my piece. That was why I led with it. His buddies obviously loved him. His story’s resurrection after almost 50 years is ample testament to that love and to the kind of guy he must have been.”

In this 32-page booklet, a compelling portrait emerges of the two men, who were both a team of machine gunners doing their job and a pair of comedians trying to lighten the mood in their unit, which sustained a high number of casualties. “Keeping it Lively” was their motto, and that’s the title of Thomas’s tribute to Edward.

The Blackstone Conference and Retreat Center generously donated space for the workshop. Copies of Thomas’ booklet can be obtained from Michael Lund at Longwood University’s Department of English and Modern Languages, which co-sponsored the workshop.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of “Keeping It Lively,” please contact Michael Lund at mlund@embarqmail.com