Three veterans, Keith Cloey, a 32-year-old former military journalist during the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, Bobbie Yen, a 26-year-old Broadcast Journalist for Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Ben Flanders, a 26-year-old member of the Army in Iraq, joined Rieckhoff to speak about their personal war experiences.
Rieckhoff began the forum by recollecting a speech he gave at the College last year in which students reacted with shock and horror as he shared his own experience in Iraq. "My speech last year at Amherst woke me up to how disconnected this country was to my experience," he remembered. "Soldiers are very reluctant to talk about the war at all. That is dangerous for our national consciousness and for the dialogue [about the war]." Rieckhoff attributes the lack of national interest in the United States involvement in Iraq to our military being a volunteer army rather than a draft army. "[People] don't know veterans anymore. Very few people are personally connected to this war," said Rieckhoff. "This is a war that the public has not felt."
Rieckhoff enlightened the audience to the difficulty many veterans face when they return home from war. Many Americans are unaware that roughly one in seven veterans who have come home from Iraq have suffered from some form of post traumatic stress disorder. "It is really tough right now to talk about the effects of the war in Washington," said Rieckhoff. "The bottom line is that veterans' issues are not a priority in this country. [All we have to do is] look at Vietnam to see what happens when veterans' issues are not taken care of." Rieckhoff cited the 600 homeless veterans of the Iraq War living in the U.S. today. "You are literally in Baghdad one week and in Brooklyn the next," he said.
Before introducing the other three speakers, Rieckhoff made a plea for all listeners to set aside their political persuasions and open their ears to the personal stories of the three veterans.
Keith Cloey, the next speaker, then shared his perspective as a journalist in the military. He mainly worked as a photographer for the army, cannot separate himself from the harsh images of what he refers to as "his war" in Afghanistan. "I took photos, and then I would go back through and decide what I didn't want anyone else to see," he explained. "Only a very small picture actually makes it [to the public.]"
Cloey has suffered from a mild case of post traumatic stress disorder in which he sees flashbacks of the photos he took. One of the most vivid images Cloey still carries in his head is of a photo he published of a man coming out of an airplane on a stretcher accompanied by two caskets on each side. "It gets incredibly confusing when you are there," he said. "The images come back, and it is extremely difficult to deal with at times."
Yet, some of the most difficult post-war traumas for Cloey did not involve his photographs. Upon arriving home from Afghanistan and taking a trip to Disney World with his family, Cloey recalled that at the sound of fireworks he instantly tackled his wife into the bushes. He also struggled to cope with the loss of six friends who died in a single helicopter crash. "That never made the news, so I felt like I failed again because I didn't get their story told," he said. "post traumatic stress disorder is a very real thing."
Talking about his own war experiences has helped Cloey to come to terms with his memories. "I was real good at shoving [my emotions] inside and hiding [them]," he said. "I am glad to be able to talk to people about the forgotten war that I was a part of." In his final remarks, Cloey encouraged everyone to support the troops. "The people who are over there are your brothers and sisters."
When Bobby Yen enlisted in the army seven years ago at the young age of 19, he was finally achieving his childhood dream of being a soldier. A graduate of UCLA with a degree in computer science and engineering, Yen joined the army as a broadcast journalist in order to become what he calls "the face and voice of the army." Yet, Yen quickly realized that even the voice of the army could face serious danger. After realizing that the government was not going to supply him with interceptive ballistic armor, Yen spent $1,900 of his own money to order the equipment from a catalogue. "I guess what the government thought was 'heck [they] are journalists [they] don't need armor anyway,'" he said.
For Yen, one particular experience opened his eyes to the sociological effects of the war. Yen was assigned to cover a memorial for a group of soldiers who had recently died in an ambush, and he remembers the night as truly surreal. "Light was everywhere. You could feel the sense of loss," he shared. "During the ceremony it occurred to me that these men were a real cross section of America. What got me was that [many] of these soldiers were young."
Yen had a strong response to the war in Iraq. "I wouldn't do it again," he said. He did send out what he regards as a very important message about the soldiers who are still there. "Behind every number you hear on TV there is a human face," he said. "There is a sense of loss and real grief. I don't want people to get used to the sacrifices my brothers in arms have made."
Ben Flanders arrived home from Iraq this past February after spending one year in Baghdad. Flanders stressed the message that issues of post traumatic stress disorder have indeed been addressed in Iraq. He explained that the army has groups known as "combat stress teams" whose members are trained professional counselors on hand for all military personnel. "The Vietnam War veterans unfortunately had to suffer under quiet torture," he said. According to Flanders, today's veterans are lucky to be able to share their thoughts through organizations such as Operation Truth.
Students who attended the lecture listened attentively as all four veterans shared their memories. However, some were disappointed with the lack of student turnout for the event. Jo Ellen Ally '07, who had the chance to intern with Operation Truth over the summer, commented on the need for Amherst students to become involved in veterans' issues. "I think it is sad that so few students came tonight," she said. "To see that Paul has other veterans involved is really impressive. It is not his job to put on a partisan face in the movement. The fact that he has stuck to his guns on that is extremely impressive."
One of the leaders of Project Survival, Annalise Rodli '07, said the inspiration for bringing Operation Truth to campus came with the realization of the student body's recent apathy towards the war in Iraq. "I think the campus has become very apathetic to [war issues] especially since the election has been over," she said.