Photo courtesy the Combat Paper Project

Join the Syracuse Veterans’ Writing Group and the Moral Injury Project of Syracuse University’s Hendricks Chapel for a Reading of nonfiction and poetry on the topic of Moral Injury among Veterans.

Military personnel serving in war are confronted with ethical and moral challenges, most of which are navigated successfully because of effective rules of engagement, training, leadership, and the purposefulness and coherence that arise in cohesive units during and after various challenges. However, even in optimal operational contexts, some combat and operational experiences can inevitably transgress deeply held beliefs that undergird a service member’s humanity. Transgressions can arise from individual acts of commission or omission, the behavior of others, or by bearing witness to intense human suffering or the grotesque aftermath of battle. An act of serious transgression that leads to serious inner conflict because the experience is at odds with core ethical and moral beliefs is called moral injury.
–Maguen and Litz, “Moral Injury in Veterans of War” PTSD Research Quarterly, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs

Readers:  Doug D’Elia, Air Force Medic, Vietnam Veteran, Len Fallis, Army, OIF Veteran, Tim Hansen, Army, OEF Veteran, Jennifer Jeffery, Coast Guard Veteran, Bob Marcuson, Army, Vietnam Veteran, Pete McShane, Special Forces Green Beret Medic, Vietnam Veteran, Marissa Mims, Daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, Don Western, Vietnam Veteran, Marine Corps.

Free and open to the public.