Month: February 2012

Blogishness, Politics / News

Late Guest Post — Happy Veteran’s Day!

Michael Anthony

This is a guest post from Marc.  He was a medic in the Army for six years, until he had to leave because of an injury.  He wrote this note a few years ago on Veteran’s Day and wanted to share it.  I know it’s not currently Veteran’s Day, but who cares.  Vets are Vets every day.  Here’s his post:

“In honor of all of our nations veterans on this…the week of Veteran’s Day…I thought that I would share my own thoughts on the matter at hand…and that is, what it’s like to be a Veteran, and maybe shed some light on the complexity of the contrast of being here at home, and the other side…

People call us heros…like we saved 30 kids from a burning bus, and we wear a cape…I understand the mentality behind this depiction of young men and women gearing up to go do things that 98% of Americans won’t do, and the sacrifice’s that we make to do our jobs…I just don’t think any of us consider ourselves heros…hell, the majority of us feel as if we didn’t go do what we have done than we didn’t fulfill our contractual obligations…for some, that is just not acceptable…We have a job to do, that we were trained to do…and most of us trained as hard as we did to the standard of combat, not to the standard of being on home soil during peace time…From Basic Training on through AIT, our training is driven so that we can react in a combat situation…Not so that we can look good in our uniforms at the local Wal-Mart…

Life down range is different than life back home…I’m not just talking about the obvious differences like the landscape, the temprature, and the fact that we are surrounded every day by people who not only want to kill us, but want to distroy the American image in the process…I’m talking about our everyday life over there…our daily interactions with people…eating habbits, our excercise habbits, our sleeping patterns, our dress code, our state of mind…all different than it was back home….On the other side it seems as though things are just more simplistic…There are people who cook our food for us…people to cut our hair…a PX to buy necessities…a mail room…hell for most of us in the days, months, and years we were over there, we  didn’t even have to flush a toilet, and our biggest concern was whether or not we would have hot water for our shower that day…We spend a bunch of time trying to find the best way to communicate with the people we are working with…the barriers of language are a hurdle some can’t seem to overcome…complacency is an enemy…and soon breeds stupidity, so most leaders over there are just trying to find ways to keep their youngin’s from getting into trouble…and of course keep themselves out of trouble…This is an impossible task sometimes….

Some of us found ourselves in some very hairy situations…the kind of situations that will be the highlight of some Holywood director’s screen play some day…bullets flying, explosions, blood, and of course radio chatter…These situations are hard to forget…we try…but it doesn’t just go away…It has been said and written many times that the worst scares of war are the ones you can’t see…There is a truth to that, because you can’t put a bandage on the mind and make it all disappear…and for the most part time doesn’t help the situation out any either…actually time makes healing unabtainable….Everytime a well wisher shakes my hand and thanks me for serving my country, all I think to myself is…”If this guy only knew some of the shit I did…I doubt he would be thanking me”…but I take the gesture as a part of them saying thank you for doing something that most of us won’t do…and that seems more realistic to me, and that is how I justify to myself that it’s ok to get those thank yous…

There are so many stages of deployment…It sucks when you leave your family back home…It sucks that you share a housing area with people you normally wouldn’t live with….it sucks that every meal revolves around chicken…It sucks that when you have the runs, you have to shit in a porta-potty…It sucks when you wake up late and miss your workout, and you have to take a cold shower…it sucks you can’t do your own laundry…it sucks not getting mail…the holidays suck…the heat really fucking sucks…the critters suck…the sand sucks…internet connection sucks…AFN only shows a few football games and it’s never your team and that sucks…It sucks getting shot at…it sucks knowing you may have to shoot back…and yes it sucks when you have to come home….

Coming home is the hardest thing you can do as a troop…I know that sounds stupid, seeings how you just spent the better part of a year wishing you were back home…but your daily routine is set into place…you have a scence of accomplishment and a scence of abandonment at the same time…and believe it or not what you did while you were there is a small blip on the screen for a very large cause…and you just know that there is so much more to do…the cultivated relationships you formulated while you were there vanish in the matter of seconds…and your scense of drive just got the smack down layed on it by the reality of…oh shit…I have to go home and be normal…Not an easy task…

So… to all my brothers and sisters in arms…I say to you welcome home…I know how you feel…Happy Veterans Day my friends….

 

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Best Of, Politics / News, Politics / News

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund – Remembering Those Who Served (Guest Post)

Michael Anthony

My name is Jan C Scruggs, Founder and President of the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial. 30 years ago, I helped build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This
monument healed millions with the engravings on a black granite wall.  Now, I am taking those names and putting a story and picture behind it in a new museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC; the Education Center at The Wall.

The Education Center of The Wall will change the people who visit it. For the
nearly 40 percent, of visitors who weren’t even born when The Wall was completed, it will transform the long list of names cut in the smooth black
granite. Instead of simply names visitors will see the faces and know the stories of the 58,000 heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War.

Through interactive exhibits and primary source materials, visitors will be able to better understand the profound impact the Vietnam War had on their family members, their home towns, their communities and the nation. Visitors will understand the importance of The Wall and the role it continues to play in healing the deep physical, emotional and societal wounds left by the war.

One of those interactive exhibits is called the Call for Photos. VVMF is trying to collect every single photograph of each person on The Wall. People are sending us photographs daily, along with personal remembrances. Here is one we received yesterday. It was written for Charles Perkins from Barbara:

“He was shot on Hill 861 on March 28, 1968 while patrolling the perimeter. He was dusted (taken by helicopter) to the U.S.S. Repose where he was operated on some 34 times, given too many blood transfusions to count and he died on May 17, 1968. Chuck was a wonderful man and always a Marine first. He was respected by his peers and his troops as well. He loved everything about life, loved boating, fishing and long walks on the beach. I have heard from so many people over the years and all so nice. A Dr. who cared for Chuck on the U.S.S. Repose called me and told me how hard he fought to come home but it was not to be. He was the love of my life and I will always miss him.”

Barbara and Charles were engaged just before Charles left for Vietnam.

It’s my goal to share Barbara’s submission in the Education Center, so generations to come can know the legacy of this great patriot. It’s also my goal to break ground on the Education Center this Veterans Day.

In order to raise the rest of the needed funds so we can break ground, from now until Veterans Day, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is issuing a Service Branch Challenge. The challenges each of us to support the Education Center and show pride in one of the branches of the service.

General Barry McCaffrey, USA (Ret) has agreed to lead the charge for the US Army, in their efforts. “The Education Center at The Wall will be a place where our fallen comrades and their stories will live on forever,” said McCaffrey. “I’m proud to lend my support and encourage those who love the US Army to get involved. Supporters of the Army are already leading the way, and have donated more than $21,000. I challenge leaders of the other branches to step up to try and catch us.”

Join Gen. McCaffrey and me in some good natured competiveness and help us remember the legacy of service made by all 9,000,000 million men and women who served with the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard during the Vietnam War Era.

Jan C. Scruggs,

President and Founder of VVMF

www.vvmf.org

Best Of, Blogishness, Blogishness, Self Improvement / Healthy Living, Writing

Five Tips to Writing an MFA Personal Statement

Michael Anthony

writing an MFA personal statementSo, I’ve decided to get myself an MFA in creative writing.  I’m applying to four different universities and I’ve been killing myself for the past few weeks trying to write my personal statement.  I’ve been scouring the web, reading books, talking to people and doing everything possible.  I’ve done over a dozen drafts and here’s what I’ve learned so far:

1)     Like all writing, you’ve got to catch the reader’s attention.  The professors who search through the hundreds (or thousands) of grad school applications, and personal statements, are going to need something to remember you.  It’s easier to remember a grad school applicant who stands out than someone who doesn’t.  And sometimes it can be what you write, the way you write, or what you don’t write.  I read a story about a grad school applicant whose entire personal statement consisted of: I want to go to your school because I want to learn from the best and be the best.  He got accepted into a program at Stanford.  But even if you just pepper in some casual, but interesting, information, it’d work just as well.  Tell them about that 400lb fish you caught.  Tell them about your year backpacking across Europe.  It’s best to not only focus on your academics, but also do something, anything that catch’s their attention and makes you stand out.

2)     A grad school application and personal statement should be flawlessly written.  You’re not writing a blog post or an essay for freshman English.  You’ve already got a degree, and now they’re expecting perfection.  This could be one of the most important essays that you ever write.  The difference between a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s is huge, so put in the effort.

3)     Don’t come off as a braggart.  The application and personal statement is about selling you, but it still has to be done in an unobtrusive manner.  Don’t just tell them how great you are; show them by explaining your accomplishments and sharing personal stories…which brings us to…

4)     Put yourself in the essay.  Don’t try to make it sound too academic.  The people who are going to be looking through the essays want to know who you are.  As stated in above, add in little tidbits about yourself and make them personal.  Don’t just mention the award you won or the paper you published, talk about how your father influenced your writing or how you mother believed in you.

5)     As always, rewrite, rewrite and rewrite.

Deadlines aren’t for another few weeks, but as soon as I find out I’ll give an update on whether or not my techniques worked.

Update: Just to let you know, I got accepted into every grad school program that I applied to.  So the techniques work!

Related Article:  Is it worth it to get an MFA in creative writing?