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Carl Zipperer reading “Lam Son 719”
Episode 2645 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the writing program in North Carolina that helps all vets. The featured story appeared in the Transylvania Times of Brevard, NC and was titled: Veterans learn to heal through creative writing. It was submitted by Michel Robertson for the Transylvania Times.
According to Robertson, On Saturday, Oct. 21 military veterans of different eras gathered at Brevard College to read their stories, essays and poetry. The venue is part of a project called “Brothers and Sisters Like These,” a series of writing workshops designed to help heal veterans with PTSD and mild TBI (traumatic brain injury).
Ten men and women from the Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts courageously opened their hearts to an attentive audience who left with a new understanding and respect for all who have served in combat zones. The event was sponsored by the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas.
The mission of The NC Veterans Writing Alliance Foundation and Brothers and Sisters Like These is to provide healing through the arts and creative writing to veterans of all conflicts in our community.
Reading to a respectful and somber audience in an intimate classroom at Brevard College, the 10 men and women who spoke addressed the many “demons” of combat: illness from Agent Orange, thoughts of suicide, the loss of comrades, returning to “the world,” and the sights, sounds and smells of war.
These stories of war and its consequences are offered at a great emotional cost by men and women who trust an audience enough to stand before them and bare their souls. They draw us together and offer a lesson in history. We return their extraordinary gift of faith with one of our own: open hearts and the gift of listening.
For more information about Brothers and Sisters Like These, CLICK HERE.
Listen to episode 2645 and discover more about the writing program in North Carolina that helps all vets.
