Category: Alumni Accomplishments

by Judith McNeely

Ryan Koch is one of the promising new poets whose work will soon be featured in Blue Streak: A Journal of Military Poetry. Ryan describes his poem “Showtime” as one that compares his arrival in Afghanistan to the sensations experienced by an actor taking first steps onto the stage on opening night. In a recent interview, I asked Ryan about his journey from war to writing.

Ryan labeled his year-long deployment to Afghanistan’s Kunar Province as “rough.” When I asked him to describe his military background and his deployment with 1^st Platoon, B Company, 1/327 Infantry, Ryan’s response resonated with pride in what he and his combat brothers achieved there. As sometimes happens in a deployment, Ryan’s platoon was re-routed and attached to 2/327, making them the “bastard children of 2^nd Battalion.” This meant that his platoon was “given the worst of the worst missions.”  When he describes the hardships he and his brothers faced in Afghanistan, Ryan does not forget those who were killed and injured there.  In the interview, he noted with pride that, “Every mission we were sent on we accomplished, even with overwhelming odds.” Of course, this success also earned them more missions, and, for Ryan, these experiences produced memories of bad times and good times.

But Ryan has—unexpectedly, he says—discovered that writing poetry helps him deal with the “dark place” that was his military experience. He describes himself as having always been a writer, but when he attended the Military Experience and the Arts Symposium in the summer of 2012, he found resources both within himself and in the form of other veterans there. In particular, Ryan credits fellow veterans and MEA contributors James Hackbarth and Bill Howerton with helping him to see his own “poetry potential.”

Not only did Ryan find that he had “poetry potential,” but he also found the healing possibilities that come through writing poetry. Ryan described the impact writing has had on his life, explaining that writing has a power that can lift him out of the dark feelings that followed him home after his year in Afghanistan. Where medication and therapy failed him, Ryan discovered that writing is one of the two forms of therapy which helps. He says that talking with other veterans offers the greatest help, but beyond that “writing is the biggest and best therapy I have.”  Ryan also finds writing to be the best means of communicating his inner turmoil with non-veterans.

Finding a veteran community network has been essential to Ryan’s success.  He credits MEA with introducing him to a veteran community that has helped him both personally professionally. Through this network, Ryan is able to get feedback and encouragement. This is important to him, Ryan says, because “Veterans know what I’m trying to say and they can help me make my pieces better without losing the theme.”War themes will continue to play an important role in Ryan’s future writing plans.  In addition to his poetry, Ryan is working on two larger projects, one of which is a screenplay inspired by his experiences with PTSD. He is currently editing this project and toying with ways to expand it so as to explain the “why” of PTSD. In addition to this screenplay, Ryan is working on a proposal for a program that would collect and share the stories of veterans from World War II, Viet Nam, and Korea. A key component of these stories would involve returning the veteran to the deployment theater as part of a narrative that would tell these veterans’ stories “from enlistment/draft to life after the military.”

When asked what advice he would give to other writers, he recommends writing about the good times and the bad. Ryan said, “Write for you and don’t worry about what others think.” Editing, he says, is another step best saved for later.  And he has some specific words for other veterans who want to write, “Keep writing … Write about everything, especially the traumatic memories … Write about the good memories, too. Those are the ones that will keep you going day after day.”

An excerpt from Art Schade’s “Not Alone,” a non-fiction piece featured in the forthcoming volume of The Journal of Military Experience:

The group leader asked me to talk about my post-war years, an area where he knew I had some success. I told them that when I left the Marines after four years, I was youthful and confident in myself. I had no clue what depression and anxiety were, and I thought the nightmares were personal and temporary. I was determined to look forward, not backwards to the war. Unfortunately, today I realize that while constantly looking forward helped me avoid chaotic memories of war, it also cloaked the memories of my formative younger years, and positive events throughout my life.

Art Schade returns to The Journal of Military Experience with a powerful retelling of his experience first talking about PTSD in a group therapy session. Art, a Marine and Vietnam Veteran, carefully crafts his narrative to detail the experience and offers hope to all veterans and their families that there is hope in the battle against PTSD. 

In a recent interview with MEA’s Katt Blackwell-Starnes, Art elaborated on the need to encourage veterans and their families to understand the benefits of seeking help. “My stories about PTSD were written thirty-five years after Vietnam, when I recognized my years of denial and accepted the control PTSD had on my life.” Art’s healing included group therapy, one-on-one sessions, and medications, and through these sessions, he came to realize the importance of writing. “I knew I had to write my stories to help all veterans and their families break the stigma of PTSD and seek medical assistance which so many of us older warriors refused to do.”

Art began raising awareness through social media, publishing and promoting “The Demons of War are Persistent.” The self-promoting worked; MEA’s President read the work and invited Art to participate in workshops to polish his work for publication in The Journal of Military Experience, Vol. 2. The support and writing critique Art received led him back for another publication in the forthcoming Journal of Military Experience, Vol. 3. “It was not until I worked with MEA team members that I comprehended the commitment they make to helping veterans bring their stories to life–without grammar errors. It has changed my writing process considerably; when I form a story, I know there are ideal volunteers willing to help me significantly improve it!”

For Art, writing is a means of raising awareness, working through troublesome memories, and, in the case of his novel Looking for God within the Kingdom of Religious Confusion, a way to open minds. The novel details a personal journey where the character has meaningful religious and secular conversations on a quest for the truth about God. The novel emerged from unanswered questions: “As a combat veteran, there were always questions I had regarding the carnage of war and a loving God. [The novel] gave me an opportunity to share my thoughts with others.” 

Art is an excellent example of the inspiration, hard work, and growth we try to accomplish at Military Experience and the Arts. If you are a veteran with a story to tell and want help getting the story onto paper, canvas, or photograph, we can help. Our staff of nearly three dozen educators, professional writers, and veterans’ advocates is currently working on the publication of nearly two hundred original works of fiction, non-fiction, scholarship, art, and poetry by members of military communities throughout the world. We would love to include you in the next publication.

Virgil Huston’s poem “Valhalla” which will be featured in Blue Streak this November.

* * *

Valhalla
—Virgil Huston

In modern times
why do warriors fight
pointless and
counterproductive wars?

Do they really believe
that Afghanistan is a
noble cause? Iraq?
That make us hated more
by those we try to rule.

Is it just a job?
Do they even care?
Or would they fight anyone
the politicians send them to?
While the politicians stay at home.

Are they brainwashed
or is there more?
They say only warriors
honorably killed in battle
receive the best reward.

Do they wish to be received
by Odin in the Valhalla halls?
Or Freyja’s Folkvangr fields?
Or to Elysium where
the Greek heroes dwell?

Yet in today’s world
only Muslims believe
in a heroes reward.
Heaven awaits the brave
with forty virgins each.

Even the promises to warriors of
the Crusades are long forgotten.
The West has no traditions left
or the great rewards there are.
If we only remembered and believed.

So, why do we fight these wars?
Brainwashed warriors have no place.
Pawns and puppets do no good
but fatten the pockets of
the Masters of War.

And the warriors die for nothing.

Is there more? There is indeed much more to consider when one writes of war, of warriors, of meaning and reward, and Virgil Huston, a poet new to the MEA community, does not shy away from the tough questions in his poem Valhalla excerpted above, nor in the two other poetic works slated to appear in the next edition of Blue Streak: A Journal of Military Poetry.

A self-proclaimed “old hippie” who missed being drafted to Vietnam, but somehow wound up active duty Army during the Cold War, supporting both Desert Shield and Desert Storm as a civilian, seeing action in the Army National Guard in Iraq and working force protection in Afghanistan, Huston is no stranger to dark places, witnessing dark dealings, and grappling with dark emotions. Nevertheless, his quick intellect and irrepressible wit shine through in his food blog Cooking with Little Buddy, a mouth-watering tour of the more than 28 countries and cultures Huston’s savored over the years and his attempt at being positive no matter where you find yourself. And the difficult and ugly scars, the details, events, and emotions he’d rather not savor, but recognizes must be dealt with, he’s found a new channel for, and a kind of progressive healing and balancing space for—in poetry.

In a recent interview with Kathryn Broyles, Huston shared that while art in his life is nothing new (in addition to an extensive background in non-fiction writing, technical writing, and curriculum development, and future plans that include building a Tozan anagama wood-fired kiln for firing ceramics), poetry is new. Huston explained, “My first decent poem Afghanistan’s Flanders Fields was written at a tiny firebase in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, where I could see about a km away the remains of a British cemetery from the 19^th century. I later saw it up close on the way to an Observation Post….Afghanistan was an experience with widely varying extremes in terms of feelings” and its these feelings, and deep reflective consideration of them, that prompts Huston to use poetry to “try and cope with the conflicting feelings produced by what [he] was seeing and doing daily.”

When asked about influences and influencers, on his art and life, Huston quickly points to poet and lyricist Bob Dylan, and to sixties “war” music like Jimi Hendrix, Machine Gun, Buffy Sainte Marie (also Donovan) doing Universal Soldier, and Country Joe and the Fish at Woodstock with the I’m Fixin to Die Rag. Besides music, though, he’s just as quick to point to the support of his wife, to her honest and loving critique of his work, and to the people who actually inspired his poems- most of whom he’s never met. One particular individual whose feedback Huston points to as critical in shaping the poems in to appear in Blue Streak, especially Ramp Ceremony, is a former poetry editor for Journal of Military Experience, Wanda Fries. “A number of people have edited my work…and it is always better after someone looks at it and makes comments.”

While Huston has not yet been able to attend a MEA workshop or symposium, he hopes to do so in the future and he credits Jeff Stein formerly of The Washington Post and now of Newsweek, with putting him in touch with the gang at Military Experience & the Arts.

Huston’s advice to veterans, to anyone who’s not already writing: “I would say give it a shot…if a vet is interested at all in writing, they should be encouraged, get the opportunity to go to a workshop.  They can see if it is something for them, and give it a try. Lot’s of us out here are willing to help. MEA is just one example and a great one.”

If you are a veteran with a story to tell and want help getting it onto paper, MEA can help. At the moment, our staff of close to three dozen educators, professional writers, and veterans’ advocates is working on the publication of nearly two-hundred original works of fiction, non-fiction, scholarship, art, and poetry by members of military communities throughout the world.

Virgil Huston firmly believes writing gives us insight into ourselves and offers insight to others. It provides a sense of accomplishment and an opportunity to be heard. In addition to developing “specialized organic crop farming” on his 11 acres of SC countryside, and strategizing construction of his Tozan anagama wood-fired kiln, Huston plans to continue working actively to overcome PTSD and TBI issues, finish out his time in the Guard honorably, and hone his craft as a writer.

As a blogger, Huston wants to “change people’s ideas about food, agriculture and other cultures, including the cultures of those we fight.” As a poet, he hopes to work towards a collected volume of his work— seeking for his poetry too, to foster cultural understanding, to disrupt our view of the enemy, and ultimately, to “change war hawks into doves.”

Dr. Tara Leigh Tappert, the art editor for The Journal of Military Experience’s third volume, and a person as ingratiated with the veteran art community as one can get through her various roles as editor, curator, college instructor, and non-profit leader, recently said that Giuseppe Pellicano was “the real deal” when asked which artists we should put a spotlight on leading up to the release of our next volume.

The staff of Military Experience and the Arts agreed, choosing Giuseppe’s Tea Time as the cover art for the JME 3. Giuseppe served in the United States Army as a medic from 2000-2004, earning the rank of sergeant and doing tours in Germany, Kosovo, and in the continental US. Tea Time is part of what Giuseppe calls his “Grenade Series,” a set of “photographic illustrations of the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on soldiers and their families. The grenade symbolizes attempts to reintegrate into civilian life.  It was chosen for its three uses which can be mirrored in those who suffer from PTSD.”

He continues, explaining those “three uses,”

Grenades are used for attack whether in self-defense or offense; they are used to signal for help, and also to provide cover.  Soldiers who suffer from PTSD often become defensive and lash out due to increased anxiety, they may also seek help to find consolation, or in many cases hide their suffering and detach.  It is important to understand their struggles and recognize the battles they continue to face when returning home from conflicts.

Tea Time certainly pops with its vibrant color scheme and deceptively simple imagery. It is the potential the piece has to instruct under scrutiny, however, that made us chose it for the cover. Giuseppe’s work represents the imperative of providing veterans with a venue in which to express themselves, a place in which lessons that can only be given by those who’ve worn the uniform can take place.

Whereas most civilian artists would appropriate the grenade solely as a weapon and means of destruction, Giuseppe’s interpretation approaches the true complexity of post-traumatic experience, one representative of subjectivity and nuance.

Giuseppe’s use of the grenade underscores the cultural gap pervasive between military and civilian cultures. Soldiers see three uses, civilians only one. Similarly, there exists a tendency to treat all cases of mental illness among troops as the same. His use of a little girl evokes a discomfort in the audience that, within the context of a generation that so vocally “supports the troops,” forces them to question its source. Essentially he turns the damaging gaze of the stereotype upon itself, forcing the audience to examine its preconceived notions about veterans and the struggles they face upon returning home.

But that’s just one interpretation…What do you think?

Military Experience and the Arts’s Katt Blackwell-Starnes recently did a Q & A with Giuseppe to learn a little more about his work, motivations, and plans for the future. Here’s what he had to say:

Q: What are you currently up to?

I am pursuing my MFA in Fine Arts, but currently taking a break.  I am also a member of the Dirty Canteen, which is a collaboration of artists.  Our work hopes to initiate a conversation about current and past events that revolve around War, politics, and healing.  We are developing a Documentary about our work, process, and commitments to the arts.  Other than that, I am currently focused on a work entitled the Grenade Series.  I am diligent in this process as I feel it is an important topic and as such, this work could be used to raise awareness about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  My research is based on discussions with other soldiers and families who find this illness challenging as they search for healing.  Their stories are my inspiration and I feel that if I rush the series, I may not reflect their hardships, healing process or means to reintegrate accurately.  This has been my most successful work in regards to reaching out to those who don’t quite understand PTSD.  With these photos, I have been able to find exhibition opportunities as well as have been awarded both Best in Show and First Place in this year’s National Veterans Creative Art Festival.

Q: How did you become interested and involved in military related art?

I returned to school three years ago.  I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to study, but thought that if I got out of the confines of my home, I could begin to reintegrate.  I took a Ceramics course at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.  With the guidance, support, and understanding of three professors, Christine Rabenold, Wendy Koenig, and Kate Pszotka, I began to learn how to express myself through art.  I found something that provided me with an outlet.  I then decided to major in Studio Arts.  As I worked on pieces, I was asked to research artists.  This led me to find other military artists such as Ehren Tool, Thomas Dang, and Drew Cameron who inspire and motivate me.  This network continued to grow and I came in contact with more amazing artists who I am now close friends with and cherish their advice and the knowledge they so generously share with me.  By speaking with them and meeting many others, I decided to try and create a group in hopes to establish a zone for Veterans and Active Duty Military Members.  The intention is so that they can find a space to showcase original artworks in any form or medium. It is continually adding and building a community where Warrior Artists can exhibit, sell, enter contests and network with other Artists, Art Aficionados, and Professionals in the field. It is open to new artist who are learning their process as well as those who are accomplished artists and want to Mentor fellow brothers and sisters. It’s name is the Warrior Art Group.

Q: How has working with the JME helped and/or changed your own process?

JME has offered me, as well as many other Veteran artists another outstanding outlet to display our work, share our thoughts, and begin a conversation.  My process hasn’t changed.  I create works that speak about issues that not only affect soldiers, but our society as a whole. My ideas haven’t changed much since last year as I am pushing forward with the Grenade Series.