Blog
Memorial Week: “I need to find friends who are gonna have my back.”
This disabled Iraq War veteran suffered a traumatic brain injury from an IED. Now permanently disabled, he’s incarcerated—and searching for community. “I need to find friends who are gonna have my back. People like I had when I was in the Army.”
Memorial Week: “I have almost no support in the outside”
This Army veteran served in the Airborne Rangers and fought in Iraq. After returning home, he struggled, and ended up incarcerated. He takes responsibility for his actions, but what he really needs now is support, connection, and the chance to be seen.
Memorial Week: “A challenging environment to live in and try to better yourself.”
This U.S. Navy veteran is serving a 10-year sentence far from home, making visits from loved ones nearly impossible. He’s doing everything he can to grow in a violent, unstable environment, but prison doesn’t make it easy. For many veterans, isolation is a second sentence.
Memorial Week: “I served overseas. I have no contacts in the outside world.”
He served overseas in the Army for six years. Now he’s in prison, with no outside contacts, and fighting to receive the veterans benefits he earned. This is not what justice looks like. This is what abandonment looks like.
Memorial Week: “To treat a person inhumanely is violence.”
This Army veteran is a writer, teacher, and self-proclaimed coffee-loving book nerd. He also happens to be incarcerated. Today’s Memorial Week post highlights his voice, and the truth that “To treat a person inhumanely is one of the most awful acts there is. To do so is violence; you reduce a person to a thing.”
Remember Living Veterans: “I Need a Human to Know I Am Not Dead”
Over 100,000 veterans are incarcerated in the U.S., often without access to mental health care or support. Kenneth, a disabled Army vet and former teacher, shares what it’s like to be erased while still alive.