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Veterans who transformed military experience into
peace activism tell their poignant stories in a new book, Long
Shadow: Veterans paths to Peace, from Atwood Publishing, Madison,
WI.
Interviews with 19 veterans, all members of Veterans for Peace
in the Madison area, are included in the unique collection, which
chronicles hot and cold war experiences of the past 70 years,
beginning with a soldier of the international volunteer brigade
fighting fascism in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. A veteran
of the on-going Iraq War tells the final story in the book.
A forward by historian Howard Zinn provides a detailed entree
to the in-depth Long Shadows interviews, edited by David Giffey.
Zinn writes in the forward:
“These are veterans with a point of view whose trajectories
of belief had many different starting points, took many different
paths, but in every case led to an abhorrence of war...anti-war
feeling among veterans has not been given the attention it deserves,
and this volume is an attempt to correct that imbalance.”
Interviews recorded an transcribed over a three-year period are
joined with two photos of each veteran to provide a retrospective
visual supplement to the text.
Arranged chronologically according to dates of military service,
Long Shadows provides a sobering examination of the reasons men
and women go to war, and the toll it takes on individuals, families,
and cultures. “This is not a book with a happy ending,”
editor Giffey writes in a brief conclusion.
While the destructive cost of war is clearly evident in the stories
told, many of the veterans provide thoughtful descriptions of
alternatives to war and express hope that someone is listening.
An array of personalities and diversity of experiences is overcome
as each veteran concludes, in his or her fashion, that war is
not the answer.
Long Shadows is dedicated to the memory of Vietnam veteran Joseph
Cammarano who died in 2003 at the Veterans Administration hospital
in Madison, just days after being interviewed by Giffey. Cammarano’s
voice is included in a 30-minute video produced by Brazen Video
as a part of the Long Shadows project. Six of the 19 veterans
included in the book are seen telling their stories in the video,
also being distributed by Atwood Publishing.
Leading the list of veteran’s stories is Clarence Kailin,
a 92-year old Madison-born activist who volunteered as a fighter
against fascism with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish
Civil War in 1937. Kailin, who was wounded and lost his best friend
in that struggle, describes the irony of his involvement as a
young pacifist in the resistance force brought together to halt
the spread of fascism years before U.S. involvement in World War
II.
The reflections of these veterans are more timely now than ever.
The interviewees reflect on their own long shadows and demonstrate
the sometimes difficult paths toward peace.
Editor David Giffey, as well as the contributors, are available
for interviews or presentation. If interested, please contact
Linda Babler, 608-242-7101 or lindab@atwoodpublishing.com
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