The Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement hosted its semesterly Veteran Storytelling Night on April 2, showcasing veteran stories for the local community.
From the laughs of the "C Ration Blues" to the tears of guilt and grief, the Veteran Storytelling Night at Songbird Coffee & Tea House left everything on the stage.
Rosemarie Dombrowski, a professor at the School of Applied Sciences and Arts, leads the Verses for Vets program at the University, which includes the storytelling event.
"The first step is putting it on the page," Dombrowski said. "That's what we do in the Verses for Vets workshops on Zoom. And then the next step is sharing it publicly."
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The OVMAE has hosted Veteran Storytelling Night for the past four years. The OVMAE also partnered with the West Valley Women Veterans group and Veteran's Writing Circle members.
"When you share it in a space like this, we're all willing to hold some of it," Dombrowski said. "We're all willing to capture some of that trauma and hold it for them in that moment, and people can feel that, people can feel the earnestness of the audience."
Veterans from a variety of time periods, like the Vietnam era, the Cold War era, the Desert Storm era and more, attended the event.
"They're different age groups," Stacey Eastwood, coordinator for the OVMAE, said. "They have different life experiences, different experiences in the military, different branches of service. So it's really nice to get them all together and find a commonality, which is writing and poetry and literature."
One of the performers was ASU alumna Nadine Weadock, who performed for her third time at the recent event, and has only shared poetry about her service in the Army National Guard at this Veteran Storytelling Night.
Weadock first performed at the event while being a student, but this was her first year attending as a community member.
"It means a lot to me to have the support that ASU provides and the platform it provides for veterans, and it's not something that is always offered and honored," Weadock said.
She explained that events like these help civilians and veterans come together to understand one another.
"To see the generations of the military and to see the same pain and hurt, but also the same celebrations, the same humor is just what impacts me the most and why I keep coming back," Weadock said.
Another community member who shared was Kerry "Doc" Pardue.
"This one is a little bit about my journey with PTSD," the Vietnam veteran said on stage. He uses poetry and stories to help him open up to others about the topic.
"It's not a disorder," Pardue said on stage. "It's a reaction to an event of trauma that happens to people. There's nothing wrong with you, except you're going through pain, going through a hurt, trying just to strive one more day."
Pardue has written two books full of poetry and stories to share his experiences with the world, and for him, sharing is what helps him the most.
"This is what helps me," Pardue said in an interview. "I will share as long as I can."
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Henry Smardo, Emilio Alvarado and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at galawre3@asu.edu.
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Grace Lawrence is the lead reporter for the community and culture desk at The State Press. This is her 2nd semester working with The State Press.
