Pirate riffs on Airport Military Courtesy Rooms

Staffed by volunteers and founded by the Marine Corps League’s Emerald City Detachment #877, the Cpl Gregory Harris Military Courtesy Room at the Syracuse, NY airport honors Cpl Harris and all servicemen and women. The Viet Cong captured Cpl Harris in June 1966 during the Vietnam War. He is still unaccounted for. During the 1980s, many airports hosted courtesy rooms sponsored by the USO. Today those rooms are rarely encountered.

The Atlanta weather caused us to arrive to Syracuse late on Thursday and also caused us to spend from 10am until 5 pm in the Syracuse airport on our return trip Saturday, March 28. We spent most of our time at the Syracuse Airport in the Cpl Gregory Harris Military Courtesy room. I truly enjoyed talking with young soldiers and the volunteers who were also spending time in the courtesy room. This place of respite provided much needed comfort and conversation for me, and the two Iraq War Veterans who accompanied me to St. Lawrence University, where we participated in a Teach In about Living with War.

When Syracuse veterans realized their airport needed a courtesy room, and the USO wouldn’t sponsor one, these veterans created their own, staffing it with volunteers who offer snacks and drinks provided by sponsors. Now that’s living with war and making do with what’s at hand to improve our warrior’s lives. Impressive is an understatement for what these veterans are doing to assist present day warriors. Likewise, the foresight of St. Lawrence University in pulling together a Teach In on Living with War.

During the Vietnam War Era, a rift opened between Academia and the military community that did not exist following WWII and the Korean War. SLU is taking steps to begin healing that divide. These educators and students wanted to know what they can do to assist military people making the transition from military life to civilian life. They began by trying to get to know our issues and us by inviting veterans to speak about their military experiences. We spoke. They listened. They asked questions. We answered. We all came away from the experience better knowing each other.

Making veterans feel welcome in airports, aboard campuses, and in the communities they return to or adopt after service is a great start toward healing the wound left by the 1960s’ civil strife – and a way to prevent the disconnect civilians felt toward the military at that time from recurring. Sharing our stories is one way to assist civilians in understanding what military life is about beyond media spectacle and also a way to help civilians understand what military people are doing, thinking, and feeling. The two Iraq War veterans, both are Milspeak writers, who accompanied me to SLU spoke openly about their wartime experience and the obstacles they have encountered in returning to the civilian world. So did the four Army soldiers and their family members who participated in the Teach In. So did I.

This war is different from the Vietnam War in many ways. One of the most important differences is the American public’s attitude toward military people. Americans care more about military people today than they have in many years. They want to support troops, veterans, and their families, but find it difficult to figure out how to do more than place a yellow ribbon on their vehicles. During the Vietnam War, when the public turned against the war, many people, young and old, turned against military people (see Memo Volume 1 for a sampling). The military, too, made missteps during that era. But during this war, the War on Terror, as the public’s war fatigue has grown, they have brought to bear upon the government their concern, dismay, and disapproval. This represents a major cultural shift from the Vietnam War Era and this shift shows how much we have learned from the Vietnam War, its veterans, and their treatment by civilians, the government, and military leadership. Remember, it is the troops, junior enlisted men and women, and their families who most suffer the effects of poor government and poor leadership.

I hope more universities and communities hold forums on Living with War, and that they will invite more veterans, active duty and reserve military members and their families to share their concerns. But civilians and the government can’t assist us veterans and warriors if we don’t let them know our issues, what our lives are like, and give them a chance to heal the old Oedipal wound of the 1960s. Together, the civilian and military communities can save servicemen and women and military families from the worst our Vietnam Veterans had to endure and help them enjoy the best the future can offer. We need to remember that when active duty members leave the service, their sacrifices do not end and they still need our support. There are more than 22 million veterans living in America – many of them could use assistance. Many of them learned the hard way that when their war ended, so did their benefits and the support of their community. This is true for Korean War and Desert Storm Veterans.

As I’ve been considering the differences and similarities among America’s many wars, I’ve learned more than I imagined I would. Following WWII, our veterans were proud to be known as veterans. Many young veterans don’t feel that sense of pride – they are proud of their accomplishments and their service, but being a veteran carries a stigma in the general public. That wasn’t the case following WWII. More than half the population at universities and colleges was composed of veterans earning degrees through the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1947. WWII Veterans are credited with creating the American middle class.

The Korean War was our first forgotten war. Perhaps its short duration in Americans’ memory is relative to the war’s short duration. The losses and victories of the Korean War and Desert Storm were as real as those of the invasions of Panama and Grenada. Those memories, and the aftermath of battle in the lives of the warriors, remain vivid – not for Americans, but for the men and women who gave their all to keep Liberty alive and this country free.

The Vietnam War was foremost in American consciousness during its time and following decades, until Desert Storm ( what I call Gulf War I). But education benefits and veterans’ care did not match that of WWII veterans. We have witnessed the emergence from WWII of a Great Generations. From the Korean War, a forgotten generation emerged. From Reagan-era conflicts, and the Cold War in general, another forgotten generation emerged. From Gulf War I, we have another generation of forgotten warriors. And now, during Gulf War II in Iraq and Afghanistan, much of the general public seems to act as though war isn’t going on. Can you imagine? Wouldn’t you rather have people arguing about your war than ignoring it – and you?

I don’t think Americans are intentionally ignoring Gulf War II. I think they are afraid of making the same mistakes made concerning Vietnam Veterans. I think Americans are unsure how to show their gratitude and how to assist veterans. Americans are worried about offending us. Who can blame them? Our politicians can’t even seem to talk to each other or understand each other – how can we expect citizens to understand us?

Great effort has been put into ensuring Gulf War II Veterans have the education benefits they need to make a success of their lives after their service is completed. The Gulf War GI Bill will go into effect in September 2009. Why aren’t Gulf War I (Desert Storm) Veterans included in this Bill? They received some of the worst education benefits of any generation of American military service members. The Gulf War Bill will go into effect during September 2009. For the first time since WWII, veterans will have the financial education assistance they deserve and need to restart their lives and create successful futures for themselves, their families, and America. These veterans might have as a great effect on America’s future as WWII Veterans had – or as Vietnam Veterans had.

Why not invite veterans in your community to talk openly about their experience? Why not ask them, as St. Lawrence University asked, “What can we do to assist you as you make the transition from military to civilian life?” Remember, for every transformation that occurs, an equal and opposite transformation will occur. In the case of veterans who do not receive support from their communities, that transformation from warrior to civilian often results in failure – as we learned from the aftermath of abuse our Vietnam Veterans endured upon their return to civilian life.

Americans have the will and the means to make that transformation back to civilian life different for our present day warriors. But first, we veterans must make the effort to understand each other and our civilian counterparts. We must reach out for those who feel they have no voice. We must make an effort to help civilians understand us in any way we can. That’s what Milspeak is all about.

I’d like to remind readers that Milspeak is an unfunded program without income, and that everything Milspeak accomplishes is done without cost. Four years ago, when I founded Milspeak, I wanted to do something positive to support our troops. I had no money, but I had time and an idea. My idea arose from the education I received through the VA’s Rehabilitation program for disabled veterans. Because I earned an MFA degree in creative writing, a creative writing program for military people seemed a natural match for my skills, abilities uncovered as the result of having to accept my disabilities. As some of you know, Press 53 will publish a Milspeak anthology in July 2009. In the anthology, I share the Milspeak story and some of my own story, and Milspeak writers share their stories. But the book will also contain stories by writers, academics, and others who I reached out to for help, and who, sometimes, reached toward me for help. It all began with one hand being extended toward another. The next step is accepting that hand, welcoming it into your own, whether to provide assistance or to receive it. That’s where it all begins. That’s where we are today with a war that will be forgotten or ignored or remembered through honoring those who must fight it. Sometimes the extended hand is refused. That has never stopped me and it shouldn’t stop you.

I believe in the power of story to bring people together, to help them understand hard times, to help them find common ground, and to learn from each other. There is nothing more powerful in human understanding than communication. So write. Write what you can while you can. Talk – tell your neighbor who you are. Listen when he or she responds. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain – the future; the future of our children and the future of humanity are in the palms of your hands.