Understanding the Veteran Experience

Nearly 18 million Americans are military veterans, from the “Greatest Generation” to those coming home from recent tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. From the beginning of the republic to the present, military service has been a transformative experience for those who have served. Sometimes honored, sometimes reviled, ignored or forgotten, veterans may re-enter civilian life to encounter a population that often has little or no understanding of their experience. Military life shapes service people in profound, unexpected ways.

Hearing veterans tell their own stories showcases the raw impact of these experiences.

As we observe Veterans Day this week,?I recommend to you GBH’s powerful multiplatform initiative, American Veteran. This is an ambitious project that traces the veteran experience through a four-part PBS series (broadcasting on Tuesday nights at 9pm on GBH 2 or local PBS station and streaming now). The television series is hosted by four veterans: TV host and former Marine Drew Carey; Iraq War Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth; award-winning actor, Native American activist and Vietnam War veteran Wes Studi; and actor, motivational speaker and Iraq War Army veteran J.R. Martinez.

The series is accompanied by a 10-part digital series American Veteran: Keep it Close, which showcases the meaningful objects veterans kept close to remind them why they serve — from a grandfather’s special stone to a puppy raised on the battlefront. The digital series is available on YouTube every other week through early January. A companion nine-part podcast “American Veteran: Unforgettable Stories” (with new episodes until December) offers deep dives into the emotional stories of a range of veterans, from the first Black American woman held as a prisoner of war to a special ops sniper coming to grips with what he was asked to do.

From the citizen-soldiers who fought in the nation’s earliest conflicts, to the people in today’s all-volunteer armed forces, it is a deeply moving story told by a diverse group of nearly 50 veterans—young and old, enlisted and officers, men and women, from all five branches of the military.

The veteran’s story is not simple and no two are alike. Leah Williams, who directed two of the episodes of American Veteran, said she and the team worked hard to present a balance between the difficulties of military service and the positive transformations many veterans experience.??“I wanted to honor each veterans’ experience and I also wanted to take a step back and look at the story the collection of experiences tells.”

Hollywood war stories seem to end with the hero’s triumphant return, but in reality, the road back to civilian life is often less certain.?For some, there were ticker-tape parades; for others, protests, anger and silence. Some veterans recall the confidence they brought home, while others remember thinking, “What am I going to do now?”?

In war and in peace, what veterans have done in our nation’s name and how they have been treated is an essential part of the American story.??We hope this initiative will connect civilian Americans with a world that many know little about—and that veterans will feel they are truly heard.?

Tomorrow night, November 10, we are hosting?a special event with several of the veterans from the series, along with the makers of American Veteran and the Military Women’s Memorial. I hope you can join us.

On Veterans Day, November 11, join AMERICAN EXPERIENCE for a virtual PAST FORWARD discussion—inspired in part by our film The Blinding of Isaac Woodard—that will explore the history of representation, respect and support of BIPOC and women veterans.

Watch American Veteran here.