V ETERAN P ROJECT R ESOURCES

R ESOURCES FOR P ROJECT Possible resources include Mary Rieg’s dad. Students can contact Ms. Rieg directly. Also, she offers: Chris Bain is from Williamsport PA, was injured in Iraq and was one of the Wounded Warriors who walked across Pennsylvania. He says it would be an honor to help with the project. His number is (570) Tom Smith Smith, my dad’s cousin, was a 20+ year Army officer, he was injured in Vietnam on Mother's Day Websites to consider:

G REETINGS AND S ALUTATIONS Introduce yourself, school, teacher, assignment Explain why you are asking them these questions Ask to set up a good time to talk – will be at least a ½ hour, or, about 30 mins or so via Ask if ok to tape/record if you plan on doing that Be sure to write/send/say some kind of thank you at end Be sure to get contact information, ask if it is ok if you can contact them again if you need to follow up If they need to, my contact info is: Finally, ask if they would like a copy of the assignment

B ASIC INFORMATION TO GET : Name, age when they served, dates they served, where/location of service, what war, which branch, why did you go to war, hometown, medals and what they stand for, what was your job like, daily experience/routine, ranking, where stationed, what it looks like, weapons used thoughts before and after the war, thoughts now, how did your family feel about the war, how did it effect you, are they proud of their service, would you do it again

O PEN -E NDED, $10 Q UESTIONS ! What was it like after the war? What was your most memorable experience? What impacted you during the war? What was the most _______ thing that happened to you in the war? If you could describe a specific detail about your war life, what would it be? How would you prepare someone going to war now?

DO NOT: Be weird. Or insensitive. Ask questions where the answer is simple or straightforward. Consider the difference between these: Did you make good friends? What experience or event helped establish a friendship?

W RITING Y OUR V ETERAN N ARRATIVE Things to consider:

P ICKING THE TOPIC Look over what they said. What can be turned into a story? What seems interesting? Where is the conflict?

D ETAILS TO INCLUDE : At some point, include “your” name Need job description Description of war, where they were stationed, location of central conflict How you got there

H OW TO START … Describe the setting of the main conflict. Make me feel like I am right there. The setting sun turned the sky a hazy red, and the air was still, and there was no sound except for the occasional radio static coming from Hernandez’s walkie talkie. Begin with the end I never thought this would be the day that _________. Begin with an interesting piece of dialogue. Michael, with his usual humor, liked to say, “two things I never mess with, my old lady, and an angry Arab.” I wish I had listened to him.

C ONSIDER THIS … Evaluate the setting directly on their paper. What details would improve in the description of the time? Of the place? Evaluate the description of the characters directly on their paper. What do they look/sound like? What is the most interesting thing about any of the characters? (Including the narrator). What more can be done to ‘flush out’ these characters? Evaluate the main conflict directly on their paper. Is it clear? Does it make sense? Does it seem like a real problem, or is it difficult to identify? Does their narrative jump all over the place, or talk about too many conflicts? Too few?

A ND … Evaluate the specific, historical detail in their narrative directly on their paper. Did you learn something new? Does it seem like they know a lot about the war their veteran served in? Are there proper nouns used correctly, that make sense (names, dates, places)? Is there a sentence using a semicolon and “however” correctly? If they did not mark this on the paper, please do that for the author directly on their paper. Evaluate down their three examples of figurative language directly on their paper. If they are missing figurative language, offer suggestions or reminders directly on their paper.

F INALLY … Evaluate their sensory details directly on their paper: see sound smell taste feel Evaluate their DIALOGUE directly on their paper. Is it interesting? Do you feel like you know the characters better? If not, offer a suggestion.

A RTICLE INFORMATION, T ELEVISION S HOW : Program Name: Frontline Episode Name: The Soldier’s Heart TV Station: PBS posted march 4, 2005 FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of wgbh educational foundation in Boston. Television

2 ND A RTICLE I NFORMATION Episode 429: Will They Know Me Back Home? Will They Know Me Back Home? Transcript Originally aired Radio Program Name: This American Life © 2011 Chicago Public Media & Ira Glass

M OVIE I NFORMATION : Born on the Fourth of July (1989)1989 Distributor: Universal | 5 January 1990 (USA)5 January 1990 (USA) DVD Director: Oliver Stone Writers: Ron KovicRon Kovic (book), Oliver Stone (screenplay),Oliver Stone Stars: Tom CruiseTom Cruise,

N OVEL AND I NTERVIEW Use the forms to help you! You can find all the novel information on the first pages of the book