Veteran storytelling: Strength through Serving
What follows are stories from The Strongest Generation — people united by their experiences in connection with America’s longest war. Some stories are those of our Veterans. Other stories are the untold experiences of the parents, spouses, and children of our Veterans.
These are stories told directly by Veterans and family members. I thank them for having the courage to write and to you for reading with an open heart.
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Let No One Sit Alone
Shoulders slightly hunched, grey slacks, a simple button-down shirt, and a face hidden by a mask. One lone voice danced with the solitary music of a piano, so crisp compared to the many voices of a choir. The sunlight held him, softened by its journey through the stained glass windows that surrounded the sanctuary. He… Read more
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Sharing Our Best with America
Grinning youthful faces, covered in dust, wearing sunglasses, armed… My social media fills with memories on Veterans Day when my friends and family uploaded pictures. The pictures take me way back — to places with sand, rooms made of plywood, and the howl of a UH60 main transmission. We lived for hot meals and real… Read more
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Extended
I expected it would happen…but held out hope that it wouldn’t. In 2007, when I was getting on a plane to Iraq for my first deployment, the US military was in a surge. It was in the news. It was all we talked about. Everyone in our unit knew of units that had been extended.… Read more
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COVID Re-deployment
Coming home from deployment is difficult. Returning to live after COVID will be no different.
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Whoever Sits In the Chair
I was slow to get out of the car. This was the first African-American funeral I had been assigned to work. I wasn’t from the South and I’d been raised in a largely white community. I had no idea how the families would react to a white, female officer providing military honors for their Veteran.… Read more