Running head: IMMERSION

Cultural Immersion #3: Stories of Sacrifice: Listening to Veterans stories Deborah Morrison Georgia State University

IMMERSION Introduction

Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. On September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law the annual observance of Veterans Day to November 11, beginning in 1978 (Military, n.d.). On November 11, 2013, Veterans day, I attended an event at the Atlanta History Museum about stories of veterans sacrifices while in the military. My father was an Army Veteran, and I did not want to attend this event because I thought I would see a host of older men who would talk about their experiences in Vietnam. I did not want to hear the same stories I heard from my father over the years, however I felt I owed it to my father to attend the event. My thoughts and feelings before the event: Before I attended the event I decided I needed to know what a veteran is. I can admit that I never knew the true meaning of a veteran; I just assumed a vet was someone who fought in a war or old, and always associated the title with individuals who fought in the Vietnam War. I dont know why I associated the two together, but I did. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary (n.d.), a veteran is defined as a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field. Once I learned the true meaning of a veteran, I decided to go into this event with an open mind, and truly listen to the soldiers speak about their experiences. The Event: The event was moderated by Kevin Riley, editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The stories were beautiful yet heartbreaking; the stories were detailed accounts of soldiers experiences over sixty years of duty and service to our country in one of the branches of the United States military during both war and peace. The evening featured clips of veteran interviews collected through the Atlanta History Centers Veterans History Project in collaboration with the Library of Congress and its StoryCorps Military Voices Initiative. The event was attended by more whites than people of color, and older people than young. However, the event was felt very welcoming and comfortable. It also featured a special highlight of a decorated veteran, who was an African American Woman. She joined the military in the 1950s, and she told her story of seeing Paris, France for the first time, and how she was discriminated against because she was a Woman, and the color of her skin. She explained that she was very head strong therefore she did not back down when she was told she could not get a promotion or was told she could not do something, because of who she was. She fought against the norm, and she prevailed in the military. After the all the stories were told, every attendee was invited to tour the part of the museum that held pictures and stories about Atlantas history. The tour guide was a MSW student of Clark Atlanta University, and she told me that on Tuesday anyone can bring a soldier to the StoryCorps Military Voices Initiative to record an interview and take pictures.

IMMERSION My feelings/thoughts after the event:

When I got home I started to reflect on the event, and my feelings before attending. I was astounded at the level of ignorance I felt towards our veterans. I realized that I never spoke to my father about his experiences in the military, and I never really listened to the stories he did share. At the event I actually listened to the veterans stories, and I realized that soldiers make huge sacrifices to defend our country. I heard stories of soldiers leaving their pregnant wives behind, and not seeing their child until the child was a toddler, leaving behind their parents, and returning to bury a parent, or women who had leave their children with their husbands, and returning a year or so later and their children not wanting to be near them. The stories that were told were not just stories of experiences during or after war, it was stories of personal experiences while serving in the military. I felt an immense sense of empathy for those soldiers and their families. I felt regret for not appreciating my father when he was alive and appreciating his stories of his experiences during his time in the military. Conclusion I am not sure if I will work with veterans in the future as a social worker, but I feel I want to do more to help advocate for them in our community. There are too many veterans that return home to no jobs, resources, and sometimes family. Currently, men in their 50s, a group that includes a large percentage of the veteran population, have been hit hard by the national increase in suicide (Jaffe, 2013). The veterans suicide rate is about three times the overall national rate, but about the same percentage of male veterans in their 50s kills them as do non-veteran men of that age daily (2013). I found this information to be disturbing, because these men should have support they need to prevent them from committing this horrific act. As a social worker I would want to do help formulate a research study to find some proper preventative programs to help these soldiers from committing suicide.

IMMERSION References Jaffe, Greg. (2013, February 1). VA study finds more veterans committing suicide. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://articles.washingtonpost.com /2013-0201/national/36669331_1_afghanistan-war-veterans-suicide-rate-suicide-risk The history of Veterans day. (n.d.). Military.com. Retrieved from http://www.military.com/veteransday/history-of-veterans-day.html Veteran. (n.d.). In Merriam-Websters collegiate dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/veteran