What's Inside a Veteran's Head, Heart and Soul?

MAJ Montgomery Granger — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 19:53:24 -0400

If you could crawl inside the head, heart and soul of a military veteran, what you would see would be what is on The American Veteran’s Art Wall (The AVAW). Visceral and vivid visions of pain, humor and self-reflection.

Veterans helping veterans tell the one in pain to “get out of your head.” That’s therapy talk for “Stop thinking and DO something!”

What The AVAW does is help you get “IT” out of your head. “It” could be a good “it,” or a bad “it,” or just an “it” that doesn’t belong there. While DOING that, YOU thus get OUT of your head.

That’s a really good thing!

Veteran Jarrod L. Taylor explained his visit to The AVAW this way:

“The idea that sharing a photograph, a drawing, a memory would make anyone feel differently at the end of the day…was too simple. Veterans already post and share on Facebook, so I wondered how this ‘wall’ could be any different. I looked at The American Veterans Art Wall, and as my buddy instructed, I read the descriptions that went along with each veteran’s post. Only a few images in, I understood the difference. This was individual veterans who were sharing parts of themselves with the world. It was raw and sometimes hard to look at, but it was very powerful. The American Veterans Art Wall, is a space where the men and women who have served our country, have a voice. I love that it is by veterans for veterans, and that is why I decided to make a post. Posting made me proud to have served and reminded me why I joined.”

The wall was the brain child of friends and colleagues, David W. Hahn (President) and Ricky Schultz (Executive Vice President). Their resume’s look like they belong in a Who’s Who of Hollywood and music industry hall of fame, but to talk with these men, you’d never know it. Humble, engaged and philanthropic, these two men share a passion for giving back to veterans that is unsurpassed.

The inspiration for the art wall came from Ricky’s dad, who was a decorated war hero. The wall project is dedicated to Col. Harvey L. Schultz, best remembered for his service to country, to community, to family and to God. Col. Schultz saw action in WWII, served in Korea, continued his military career in the Reserves until 1979, and earned the Legion of Merit. Col. Schultz died in 2010 but left a glowing example of how a man should live his life, with joy, honor and dedication.

In Col. Schultz’s honor, they discussed what would be fitting, and Mr. Hahn told me, “America’s common ground is found in its diversity, and what makes that diversity accessible to all? American art and crafts. Once held in esteem they have, like so much else, become a political football. So we decided it was time to reintroduce the country to its common ground, the source of its uniqueness. Art. American Art.”

And who better to provide this unique expression of self than veterans?

After visiting and then contributing to The AVAW, Jarrod Taylor had this to say, “Not only is The American Veterans Art Wall a way to help our nation’s veterans feel connected, but it is a way to preserve the history of my generation’s wars for future Americans and to better understand other generations who served. You have created a continuum for this nation’s military.”

A connection. A continuum. Things hauntingly absent from a veteran who feels alone, un-cared for and forgotten.

Messer’s Hahn and Schultz emphatically say that once a veteran contributes his head, heart and soul to the wall through art, photography or creation, he or she can say, “I AM. I HAVE WORTH. I AM NOT ALONE.”

They say “art is the answer.” And I say, how could it not be?

The feeling of joy and completeness was unexpected, when on a whim I asked Mr. Hahn if I could contribute photographs of ceramic iguanas I made while serving with the Joint Detainee Operations Group, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from February to June 2002. I took care of bad guys. A job I describe as “hatred and empathy colliding in an emotional train wreck.”

I would later serve in Iraq, but emotions I experienced on my Gitmo deployment, my first after September 11, 2001, took me by surprise. I was wracked with guilt over leaving my wife and three sons, the youngest of which was born two days before I left for Gitmo.

When The AVAW accepted my art I was surprised, and then elated.

We all have our stories. We all have our baggage and our pain. But sharing those simple items I had made out of grief, solitude and anguish helped me move forward, and out of my head.

My Brother and Sister Veterans, it will for you, too.

I am a three times mobilized retired U.S. Army Reserve major, and author of “Saving Grace at Guantanamo bay: A Memoir of a Citizen Warrior,” dedicated husband, father, educator, veteran and Branded Contributor for TheBlaze.com.

Response by TSgt David L. made Jul 22 at 2015 7:57 PM

TSgt David L. — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 19:57:19 -0400

This area is a can of worms that might be better left alone. Pandora's box, if you will?!

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 22 at 2015 8:33 PM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 20:33:41 -0400

MAJ Montgomery Granger Thanks for sharing that very inspiring story with the rest of us on RP. I found it to be profound and moving. I had to read it twice. Thank you for your book (I will add it to my list of books to read) and thank you for your service. There are a lot of veterans that could have similar stories to tell.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 22 at 2015 9:10 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 21:10:25 -0400

Thanks for sharing.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 22 at 2015 9:15 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 21:15:12 -0400

I hope they have a winning spirit regardless of circumstances.

Response by SN Victoria Glover made Jul 23 at 2015 12:31 AM

SN Victoria Glover — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 00:31:34 -0400

Very wonderful story. It is a wonderful way to share each persons own trials and tribulations. We each have our own memories that we can share if not by word but by pictures. I know some of those photos I see remind me of some of the feelings that I have and that I know that some of my friends and family have that were in the military. The AVAW is a splendid idea that I am sure will continue to flourish.

Response by CPL Roland Newton made Jul 23 at 2015 12:44 AM

CPL Roland Newton — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 00:44:50 -0400

I loved serving in the Military but now , Mine includes frustration, confusion, pain, distain

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jul 23 at 2015 12:15 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 12:15:22 -0400

Once upon a time I served as a volunteer with the probation department for Orange County, CA. I worked with youth at risk (gang kids incarcerated after repeated convictions). It was rewarding work and my time "on the job" coincided with an uptick in my success in my vocation. I became convinced that it wasn't merely coincidental. I began to fear that my success would diminish if I quit, and thus I pressed on even when working with the kids became "inconvenient".

Ultimately, age and health forced me to stop volunteering. It left a void in my life much like the void I felt when I left active duty. After all, I volunteered to serve in the Army just as I had volunteered to serve the kids. Service is satisfying, at least to me. I believe it is to most of us.

Only recently I joined other veterans in the American Legion and the VFW and began serving once again. I find that helping other veterans as well as those on active duty satisfies what for me appears to me a primal need.

Duty, honor and country are not just words...

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Jul 23 at 2015 12:27 PM

LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 12:27:27 -0400

People often stereotype veterans as they do many others. What's in a vet's soul is as unique as every snowflake...

Response by SSG(P) Jarrod Taylor made Jul 23 at 2015 4:58 PM

SSG(P) Jarrod Taylor — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 16:58:34 -0400

Thanks for sharing this. I was a soldier, and I went to war 4 times. Now I'm a history teacher. The American Veterans Art Wall serves multiple purposes. It gives veterans a voice. It shows that we are not alone in our experiences or feelings. It provides a creative outlet for emotions that we are used to pushing inside and hiding. Finally, as a historian, it makes me happy that we are preserving the history that our service members and veterans helped shape, which in many cases is very different from the textbook version.

Thanks again for sharing this, and I hope that everyone who offers support and words of encouragement will also take a few minutes, select a piece of art, writing, or even a photo from their Facebook albums, and contribute to this project.

#Demandthecount

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 24 at 2015 11:47 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 23:47:39 -0400

PTSD to me is reprogramming the mind to see and feel more than pain.

Response by A1C Riley Sanders made May 9 at 2020 12:16 PM

A1C Riley Sanders — Sat, 09 May 2020 12:16:33 -0400

THE NICEST PLACE TO BE IS IN SOMEONE'S THOUGHTS, the safest place to be is in someone's prayers, and the best place to be is ....... in the hands of God.