Roosevelt Aurora Post 84 is a partner with Illinois Joining Forces to host a Veterans Day “Open Mic” Veterans Town Hall immediately following the Veteran’s Day Parade in Downtown Aurora. The event will be held at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center after the conclusion of the Annual Aurora Veterans Day Parade. The Town Hall will be open until 3:00 p.m. and is the first of its kind in the Midwest. Veteran Town Halls are inspired by the book written by Sebastian Junger, titled “Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging”.
“I am honored that the American Legion can partner with Illinois Joining Forces to bring this event to the Midwest,” stated Commander Mike Eckburg. “I believe that anytime the public has a chance to hear first hand what our veterans do to ensure our freedom is a fundamental part of our Country. Freedom isn’t free, and brave men and women serve everyday in harms way, and I believe we need to be there for them and listen and support our veterans in an active way – by being there”.
The idea behind a Veterans Town Hall is to give vets of all wars a chance to address their community directly and without intermediaries. As a veteran speaking at a town hall event, the veteran will be addressing a crowd that includes everything from close friends and family to complete strangers. But these are the people the veteran risked his/her life for; these are the people they went to war for. No one goes to war and returns home unaffected. It’s not fair – or healthy – for veterans to be left alone with these burdens. They belong to all of us.
The event is solemn and non-political. There will be no question-and-answer period afterward. There will be no debate on the merits or justifications of war. There will be no recriminations or accusations. This is simply a chance for veterans to tell the community what it felt like to go to war. Many vets will be incredibly proud. Others will be angry. Some might be crying too hard to speak. A community ceremony like this will return the experience of war to our entire Nation rather than just leaving it to the people who fought. The bland phrase, I support the troops, will now mean showing up at a town hall once a year to hear these people out. US Representative Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts) who served courageously as a Marine lieutenant in Iraq and has gone on to espouse the Veteran Town Hall idea in Congress. (The best contact for Representative Moulton is: Dennis.magnasco@mail.house.gov. Phone: 1-978-531-1669)
“This is a way for veterans to be supported by their local community,” stated Mr. Martinez. “It is so important that our veterans connect with the community in which they live and share their experiences in a supportive and understanding environment”.
The unique storytelling event was inspired by journalist and author Sebastian Junger, whose 2014 Vanity Fair piece on post-traumatic stress disorder explored the isolation veterans find on returning to an individualistic society from the intense camaraderie of war. He recommended replacing Veterans Day parades with town hall meetings where veterans could air their combat experiences in dramatic retellings. “A community ceremony like that would finally return the experience of war to our entire Nation, rather than just leaving it to the people who fought,” Junger wrote.
— Submitted by Mike Eckburg, Commander, Roosevelt-Aurora American Legion Post 84