As part of the Dialogues on the Experience of War program, the Contemporary History Institute at Ohio University hosted Coming Home from War: Conversations for Veterans in Southern Ohio and the Appalachian Region. This program brought together veterans and community members to discuss the experiences of coming home from war to an economically stressed region. Participants explored questions of guilt, trauma, injury, and disability as well as the challenges of reintegrating into society.
“Reading portions of AJAX together, and discussing that book, was meaningful to me. I know I bring a whole range of assumptions to any conversation about military experiences […]Discussing this play, it’s role in the lives of the audience who experienced it, and the ways the book performs a kind of ‘time travel’ bringing ancient stories into the present moment, all of this was helpful in digging into my own assumptions, suppositions, and predetermined judgments…ultimately breaking them apart bit by bit. This is important to me, to break through the layers of my own assumption in conversation with other vets.”
–Veteran Participant
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Advanced undergraduate and graduate students were recruited and trained as facilitators. Then, the facilitators conducted conversations with groups of veterans from the university, local, and regional communities. Humanities sources such as film, fiction, poetry, and literature helped participants make connections across experiences in a supportive environment. In a post-program survey, 100% of respondents found the group a “safe and supportive place for discussion,” and 94% of respondents agreed the program “invited [them] to think about issues related to military service [they] had not considered.”
Facts & Figures
100%
of respondents found the group a “safe and supportive place for discussion.”
Facts & Figures
97%
of public program participants felt “more confident about taking part in thoughtful discussions about war.”
Facts & Figures
94%
agreed that the program “invited [them] to think about issues related to military serve [they] had not considered.”
Last, to facilitate greater interaction with the community, the project held public programs, including a screening and discussion of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s documentary, The Vietnam War, and a conversation with journalist David Finkel around his work on men and women at war and their return home. The pairing of personal testimonies with the film drew in audience members who did not have military experience. One participant stated: “I’ve never been in the military or combat myself. This event gave me greater insight into the experience and its aftermath.” Each event served as a pathway for understanding, addressing the often-ignored gulf of experience between returned veterans and their communities. Following the events, 97% of participants reported feeling “more confident about taking part in thoughtful discussion about war.”
