Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Part one: Iraq veteran: Was it worth it? Part two: Student veteran recounts war.


Photograph by Patrick Dodson

I wrote a two-part series for The Albany Student Press (my school newspaper) about my service in the Army and being a veteran. The second part came out today. Please check it out!



Part one.



Part two.

3 Comments:

Blogger Ryan Placchetti said...

I read the articles and then came here. I took your intentions and then I defied them. I would call myself a maverick, but I feel like that term has been forever co-opted by politics.

The first article was pretty good, but I felt like the second one was substantively more visceral, certainly more personal and definitely more sharply focused than the first. It may have been the length of the second piece that gave you a bit more time to explore. I think, at least in my reading, what made the difference was that the first article setup the second, you transferred from sympathetic observer to an active participant in the suffering. That made for a much stronger and compelling narrative.

That said, the articles were terrific as a pair. They capture the twin aspects of many deployment stories: the guilty sense that you didn't suffer enough, and the equally stomach churning possibility that you invited suffering into your life.

Nicely done.

11/18/2009 06:13:00 PM  
Blogger K. Mun said...

Was looking forward to the second part and was definitely not disappointed! Love the photo -- you have some beautiful ink.

(Oh and to your clarification on your first part, I noted that comment on over-educated officers when I read it and wondered if anyone would write something nasty along those lines. I don't disagree with you, I keep hearing it and it only has me concerned the kind of officer I will be. It seems that many officers education in leading should start in respect. And those green, over educated officers need to realize when they get to their first billet even the youngest enlisted wo/man has more experience than them.)

=)

11/22/2009 05:45:00 PM  
Blogger Jonn Lilyea said...

Nice

12/07/2009 08:47:00 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home