Personal Battles

During the past month, a group of students in a Chico State Journalism Department magazine writing class interviewed local veterans and worked on a series of related articles. The students selected their own topics, but chose to concentrate during this project on issues affecting veterans of wars subsequent to World War II. They learned about agencies that provide services to veterans, and grass-roots organizations that help vets deal with government bureaucracy. They learned that many veterans deal with problems like homelessness and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, that virtually all of them are forever changed by the experience of war and military service. The CN&R has chosen to publish a few of those articles in this issue, articles that reflect the essence of this project and concerns that veterans of recent wars share on this Veteran’s Day 2005.

Dreams deferred
Chico Iraq War vet survives to fight another day

A veteran’s view of war
Joe D’Amico shares his Vietnam experiences and what they taught him

Extraordinary journey
A Gulf War veteran finds peace in the anti-war movement

Yo Soy el Army
Military recruiters take aim at Latino youth

Veteran services and organizations