Operation Homecoming: Troops Talk
Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops
Aug 16, 2008
Operation Homecoming is an anthology of uncensored poetry, fiction, memoirs, letters, journal entries and essays written by American troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and on the home front. The idea for this project emerged at a gathering of poet laureates. Poet Marilyn Nelson who taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, suggested that our nation’s troops might benefit from writing about their life-changing experiences.
How Do Soldiers Share War Experience?
The worlds of the military and literature belong to different realms in our society. Soldiers often don't like the way they are portrayed in the media and Americans often do not understand what the military members and their families deal with, and who they are. Could writers enter the military world and inspire troops to write?
Writers Teach at Military Bases
The National Endowment of the Arts exists to bring the best of the arts to all Americans. 'Operation Homecoming' is the first program of its kind in American history: distingished writers - including Tobias Wolff, Tom Clancy, and Mark Bowden - conducted writing workshops at 25 domestic and overseas military installations from April 2004 through July 2005. The project also offered a call for writing submissions to troops who have served since 9/11, along with their spouses and families. It resulted in more than 10,000 pages of submissions. Andrew Carroll, editor of several bestselling books, including Letters of a Nation, Behind the Lines, and War Letters, edited the anthology on a pro bono basis.
The Personal Cost of War
The short stories, e-mails and poems in the anthology are sad, funny, violent, emotional and even uplifting. They display an honesty and intensity that is rarely seen in explorations of the war. The writing reflects a desire to come to terms withpersonal war experiences. A father felt compelled to write a “last letter” to his two little girls before heading off to Iraq offering words of love and comfort in the event that he would not return. A soldier wrote a story titled ‘Aftermath’ based on a real attack involving a roadside bomb. He portrays the incident from several angles, including an Iraqi farmer who is killed by one of the Americans. The wife of an officer commanding a helicopter squadron in Iraq alluded to Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is the thing with Feathers” in her more contemporary poem titled "Emily, Updated: Helicopters/ fly without/ feathers/ Hope/ is the thing/ with armor."
Operation Homecoming - The Film
The writings of 11 soldiers were also made into a documentary. Some pieces are animated, some are read, others are reenactments of the events. Actors include Robert Duvall and Blair Underwood. Writers who participated in the project reflect on their own experiences in Vietnam. Tim O'Brien explains how memory pains returning soldiers who carry around in their minds specific body parts seen in violent injuries: "that cheek or that ear."
Operation Homecoming has the long-term goal to create an historical archive of the post 9/11 wars. In 2008,the program will host writing workshops at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, military hospitals, and affiliated centers in communities around the country. Proceeds from the anthology will be used to provide arts and cultural programming to U.S. military communities.
Carroll. Andrew (ed.): Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families. New York: 2006.
Brian Turner, one of the poets featured in Operation Homecoming, published his own volume of poetry:
Brian Turner: Here, Bullet. 2005.
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