Combat Veterans to Share Their Stories

Combat Veterans to Share Their Stories
by Michel Robertson

On Saturday, October 21, the Veterans History Museum will host a special production of Brothers and Sisters Like These, a program featuring veterans sharing their stories of combat and healing. This event is offered free of charge to the public at Brevard College at 2:00 p.m.

In 2014, a group of Vietnam combat veterans participated in a novel creative writing program which focused on capturing their stories through narrative and poetry. Participants forged lifelong friendships and realized significant healing from PTSD.

In 2017, a staged reading of their work, Brothers Like These, captivated their Asheville audience. With the addition of veterans of the war on terror, the group is now known as Brothers and Sisters Like These. Their readings have generated great acclaim throughout North Carolina.

“Not everyone is a storyteller, but everyone has a story to tell,” observes Ron Capps of the Asheville Veterans Writing Project. “For veterans with PTSD, either you control the memory, or the memory controls you.” For many vets, these essays and poems reflect the first time their stories have been told.

Participants in this therapeutic writing experience are compelled not only by the healing they’ve experienced, but also by the powerful collateral benefits among their families and communities. “In war, there are no unwounded soldiers,” states the writing group’s president, Stephen Henderson.

These veteran brothers and sisters invite the community to bear witness to their stories of healing in Brevard College’s McLarty Goodson Hall, Room 125 on the building’s ground floor. McLarty Goodson is the first building on the right when entering through the college’s main entrance, across from College Plaza shopping center. Signs and volunteers will be available to guide guests to the lecture room.

For information about Brothers and Sister Like These, call Michel Robertson at 828-506-6603.

The mission of the Veterans History Museum is to honor our nation’s veterans, educate the public, and preserve important historic artifacts. The Museum reflects a love of country and gratitude to those who serve it by remembering and celebrating their service. Located at 21 E. Main Street in Brevard, NC, the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.