Veterans

Coming Home
Written by Zachary Moon
Reviewed by James Summers

I worried
when the Black River was so low some years,
poking along underneath
the Main Street bridge
in front of our home
on Memorial Day.

The Gold Star Mothers
had just arrived
in one of Ludlow’s only convertibles:
they struggled out of the car
wrapped around in American flags,
looking enormous
waddling up to the edge

Dear Editor:  I congratulate Zachary Moon for his fine article in the Western Friend (Jan/Feb 2013). It is well written and thought provoking.

The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life that Follows by Brian Castner

Review by David Austin

Brian Castner died in Iraq.  We know because he tells us so on page 157 of his memoir, The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life That Follows.

My Quaker meeting knew I’d long been enraged about our country’s misadventures in the Middle East. They knew I’d been volunteering at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, but they didn’t really know what I’d done about the fury that possessed me. This is a testimony to what can be done when we think we’re faced with helplessness.

I remember what it felt like, during the last two years of the Vietnam War, to go into town wearing my US Navy uniform.  Often, I felt invisible.  Sometimes, just silly. Frequently, I got the cold shoulder.

My experience as a Navy pilot for a third of my life is fundamental to who I am.  The military has significantly impacted my experience as a Quaker. This is most evident to me when I compare the Quaker testimonies of Simplicity, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Peace with the military codes and traditions that have shaped me.