Tell me a little bit about the Words of War fundraiser that’s coming up May 8.
Tell me a little bit about the Words of War fundraiser that’s coming up May 8.
Absolutely. Growing up, I sort of always knew I wanted to join the military, so I read every military book out there. I watched all the films, from "Platoon," to Stanley Kubrick’s "Full Metal Jacket," to "The Odyssey". One of the funny things about it is all of these books and works of art were supposed to be warnings to future generations, right? They’re supposed to be words of caution to young men about running off to war. And that’s actually not what happens. For some reason, they inspired me and made me want to join the military. They sort of were invigorating. But with that said, a really good friend of mine, Elliot Ackerman, says that those of us who have experienced combat are “custodians of a sacred memory.” I think we have an obligation to share our experiences and there’s power in doing that. I mean, one—it is a word of caution for future generations. I think more important than that though, is it’s very easy to go to war and to have an awful experience happen. You lose a best friend, you make a decision where civilians are killed, you do something and a friend gets killed. The nature of war is such that bad, tragic things happen, and I think there’s power in sharing those stories, not only is it cathartic, but it's also letting other people know that they’re not alone, that other people have had those experiences.
Absolutely. Growing up, I sort of always knew I wanted to join the military, so I read every military book out there. I watched all the films, from "Platoon," to Stanley Kubrick’s "Full Metal Jacket," to "The Odyssey". One of the funny things about it is all of these books and works of art were supposed to be warnings to future generations, right? They’re supposed to be words of caution to young men about running off to war. And that’s actually not what happens. For some reason, they inspired me and made me want to join the military. They sort of were invigorating. But with that said, a really good friend of mine, Elliot Ackerman, says that those of us who have experienced combat are “custodians of a sacred memory.”
I think we have an obligation to share our experiences and there’s power in doing that. I mean, one—it is a word of caution for future generations. I think more important than that though, is it’s very easy to go to war and to have an awful experience happen. You lose a best friend, you make a decision where civilians are killed, you do something and a friend gets killed. The nature of war is such that bad, tragic things happen, and I think there’s power in sharing those stories, not only is it cathartic, but it's also letting other people know that they’re not alone, that other people have had those experiences.
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