Soldiers share stories, photos to ease transition

By Communications staff, Washington State University
 
Lommasson with the collage. (Photo by Leah Nash)
 
 

Number of vets
triples in three years
 
The number of veterans enrolled at WSU Tri-Cities has grown 219 percent since 2007 – from 36 to this year’s 115. Veterans make up 7 percent of the student body.

“This presentation gives us the opportunity to share with the community who a veteran really is, in all aspects,” said Jason Alves, a U.S. Navy veteran who served four years on the USS Kitty Hawk as an aviation electronics technician.

Alves joined WSU Tri-Cities this summer as a member of Vet CORPS, a veterans support program operated by the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs through an AmeriCorps grant. Vet CORPS helps returning veterans go back to college with the G.I. Bill, find counseling services and access other veterans’ benefits. It offers moral support to families during the transition.

 
For more information, visit here and www.vet-corps.org.
RICHLAND – Military veterans will tell you that coming home is never easy, with unanticipated changes in loved ones, yourself and daily life.
An art exhibit opening during a free public Veterans Day ceremony at 4 p.m. Nov. 10 at WSU Tri-Cities illustrates a new way that some veterans are transitioning to civilian life. They are sharing their experiences visually with an audience not usually included in the conversation.
 
“Back home, and often in college, veterans search for a way to work through their memories, restlessness and their anger with the ‘way things ARE, not the way they were,’” said Jason Alves, veterans affairs and Vet CORPS coordinator at WSU Tri-Cities. “Opening up to share and tell stories has been shown to be an effective way to create an outlet for veterans suffering from a disconnection with home.”

“Life After War: Soldiers’ Stories” is an exhibit of photos and words by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, coordinated by photographer Jim Lommasson of Portland, Ore.

A compilation of more than 2,000 photos arranged into a cloud collage tells stories of war and home from a soldier’s perspective. The multifaceted presentation is emotionally gripping and, at times, painfully honest.
 
The images come together to make the whole story of the veteran – the same camera that captures the smiles of loved ones and majestic hometown sunsets also contains images of the depravity of war and the stress of combat. Some of the photos contain explicit images related to military service, so parental discretion is advised for any children who attend.
The 4 p.m. ceremony, featuring comments by Lommasson, will be preceded at 3 p.m. by a veterans resource fair. The event and the exhibit will be in the West Building atrium.

“Life After War” will be open for viewing 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Fridays and 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays, Nov. 8-22, except on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.