Veterans

Charlotte Sebastian of Friends for a Nonviolent World and their Everyday Nonviolence Podcast guest-hosts today for Spirit In Action, sharing portions from 2 episodes of the podcast.

Guest-host Patricia Stansbury visits with folks connected with the Veterans Resiliency Holistic Clinic, which provides a multidisciplinary approach to trauma, treating the person, not the disease.

Kevin Basl served served 2 tours of duty in Iraq and was profoundly changed by the experience. He is among the vets who use the arts for healing. Kevin's work is with Warrior Writers, Combat Paper NJ, and through his music, some of which he recorded in Iraq during his 2nd tour.

Ash Kyrie spent 18 months serving the USA as a Wisconsin National Guardsperson sent to Iraq, and it changed him. The road home to fullness includes time with other vets, support from family & community, and a long peace march in Japan, plus lots of subsequent Japanese connections. And art that helps bridge the gap from soldier to civilian, and war zone to back home.

Three strong men among the thousands led to the confrontation with the DAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline) at Standing Rock. Myron Buchholz was born & raised in North Dakota, and both Ash Kyrie & Kevin Basl felt called to join the Oceti Sakowin Camp for a variety of reasons, including as part of the Veterans Stand.

Anti-war activists and military folks are predisposed to see each other as "the enemy", but even mainstream or conservative folks can have a very difficult time truly welcoming home vets. Zachary Moon is very concerned about treating vets as real people, not political or theological pawns in some game. Relatively few Quakers serve in the military, even as chaplains, as Zachary does, and too few know how to really support our troops when they return home, so he has helped pioneer a way forward.

Gaylord Oppegard served in the military from 1962-1965. But it was not until 2004 and after 30 years as a Methodist, that he took part in his first action opposing war and standing for peace.

Will Williams was born in central Mississippi on 9/11/1943 and joined the military as a way past the limitations of his race and environment. He did 2 tours in Vietnam, suffered major PTSD, fully emerging from it after 9/11/2001 as he found his voice to speak out against war with the Veterans for Peace.