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The War Horse
This Is the Crucible That Forged Me, But I Am No Piece of Steel. None of Us Are.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, consider the power of our memories that linger like hazy images until they are resurrected by the smell of burned rubber or bug spray, the nostalgic power of a song, or the sound of helicopters passing overhead. Our senses open the door to grief, joy, guilt, and pain. These are the snapshots that make up my story and memorialize the cost of resiliency.
Marines Recognize War Horse Founder as First Enlisted Recipient of Gen. John A. Lejeune Leadership Award
On April 6, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation presented War Horse founder Thomas Brennan with the 2023 Gen. John A. Lejeune Award for Exceptional Leadership, making him the first enlisted Marine veteran to earn the recognition. “Your important work with mental health in the military, founding of War Horse, and...
For 50 Years, Recruiting a Volunteer Military Was Salesmanship. Now, Few Are Buying.
In the spring of 1977, a letter appeared in Proceedings, the long-running journal of the U.S. Naval Institute. “I am no malcontent,” wrote a junior enlisted Navy man. “I love the Navy and believe in a strong national defense. But, I believe a man who is treated with dignity and respect, rather than like a child by an elitist, is bound to be a better fighter.”
Dad Always Seemed Bigger Than Life. But I Had No Idea There Was a Hero in the Next Room.
It felt like a punch in the stomach. For a few seconds, I was breathless, then overcome by anxiety. Finally, a certain calmness took over. The call came around lunchtime on Feb. 5, 2009, a pleasant, sunny day. I worked as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and was out delivering mail. Even though I knew my dad was near death, my mom’s words over the phone shocked me in a way I had not experienced before—or have since.
Combat Always Makes Fast Friends—Uncovering the Story of a Trailblazing Woman War Correspondent
First to the Front: The Untold Story of Dickey Chapelle, Trailblazing Female War Correspondent by Lorissa Rinehart. From the beginning of World War II through the early days of Vietnam, photojournalist Chapelle chased dangerous assignments her male colleagues wouldn’t touch but was still forced to overcome discrimination both on the battlefield and at home, with much of her work ultimately buried from the public eye. Dickey faked her own kidnapping, jumped out of planes, and marched with fighting forces on four continents to document history-making events. She was the first American female journalist killed while covering combat.
A Life of Service Doesn’t End When You Take Off the Uniform. Now I Forge My Own Path.
I fold my hands over my pregnant belly and shift in search of a comfortable position in an uncomfortable chair. My body feels the stress of the nearly full-term baby, but my brain is blissfully unaware of the full weight of impact the child will have on my life. I’m...
Their Lives Would Never Be the Same. In Some Ways, Neither Would Mine.
I met Lt. Col. Benjamin Palmer when he took command of my first fleet unit in the summer of 2009. Later that year, I attended a Christmas party at his home, a place filled with family photographs and collages from each of his duty stations and their respective time zones. What stood out the most, though, was the warm way Palmer and his wife, Leafa, took time with each guest, making sure we all felt welcome and comfortable.
You Cannot Go Back, and It Never Really Gets Better. Sometimes the Truth Is Cruel.
At a point in time some five or so years ago, I found myself at a party early in my first semester of college. It was supposed to be some introductory thing for the people in our dorm to get to know one another, and to this day I still think I should have passed on it, free pizza or no.
Time Does Not Dim the Camaraderie We Shared. Don’t Dwell on the Bad Stuff.
In early 1968 I left school, married, got drafted, and entered the Army. A job as a clerk interested me, but after flunking the typing test during basic training (nice try, but eight words a minute?) I ended up in Infantry Advanced Individual Training at Fort Lewis, Washington. The weather...
Black Veterans Have Always Fought Two Wars, Battling the Enemy Abroad and Prejudice at Home
In the summer of 1946, George Dorsey, a World War II veteran who had served tours in North Africa and the Pacific theater, was easing back into post-war life after five years in the Army. He was working as a sharecropper in Walton County, Georgia, after returning home, and living with his wife, Mae.
Twenty Minutes – My Chest Fills With Burning Coals. But I Keep Breathing.
I can breathe. Inhale for four beats, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four, then repeat. In. Hold. Out. Hold. Our front yard is filled with mourners, all in black. A bead of sweat rolls down the nape of my neck, melting into the already damp collar of my loose cotton shirt. The dry Wyoming breeze does nothing to cool me down, but it carries the voices that wash over me like ice.
Think Directing Troops on the Battlefield Is Tough? Try Dinner Skirmishes With Toddlers.
He stood in front of me in a pile of his own vomit. The remnants of his bottle and bile were spattered down his shirt, and he screamed that he wanted spaghetti for dinner. At the same time, no more than three feet away, sat a plate of spaghetti that he chose at the grocery store and helped cook for dinner. As I stared at this two-year-old, I wondered to myself if this was the right decision.
America Faces a Tidal Wave of Aging Veterans, Including a 237% Increase in Women Over 65 by 2041
For decades, dawn brought the clarion bugle call of reveille across the lush campus of the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, 60 miles north of San Francisco. The residents, the earliest among them veterans of the Mexican-American war, rose early and dressed in strict accordance with a uniform-like code.
Join The War Horse Team as Director of Development
The War Horse team is excited to meet our first full-time Director of Development. You will lead fundraising for our nonprofit newsroom and writing programs for military-related individuals. You will connect with donors who support democracy, demand government transparency for $1T spent each year, and believe in successful transitions from service to careers in writing. You’ll be a leader at a nonprofit newsroom that produces award-winning projects, and you should be prepared to grow alongside a world-class team of journalists. Simply put, your mission will be to connect donors to world-changing military journalism that engages—and occasionally outrages—taxpayers and citizens to demand accountability from the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
Join The War Horse as Audience Engagement Manager
The War Horse seeks a creative, energetic, and collaborative teammate to help us grow and diversify our newsroom’s audience. The audience engagement manager will be part of a versatile, data-driven team that works with journalists across the newsroom to build on this trajectory and will increase the reach and impact of The War Horse’s journalism. The right person for this role will have a passion for news and data, a flair for story packaging, and strong communication skills.
A Close Encounter With a Little Red Car and an Accusation of Attempted Murder
I think of Haiti as a country that just can’t catch a break. Beyond environmental challenges—deforestation, hurricanes, earthquakes—violence is commonplace, exacerbated by crushing poverty, crime, gangs, and drugs. Throw in the country’s history of corrupt and dictatorial regimes—including decades of exploitation by France in which Haiti was...
‘Embrace the Suck’–Life as a Gold Star Child is a Race With No Finish Line
It’s Saturday morning in Lynchburg, Virginia, shortly before sunrise. I lace my Nikes and head out the door for a weekly run with my dad. I’m 12 years old. I tiptoe down the steps and gently open and close the front door so I don’t disturb my mother and siblings, still asleep in their beds. My father and I hop in his 1984 Jeep Cherokee and cruise to the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. The sound of Mumford and Sons blares from the speakers as the cool wind blows through our hair.
Far Along on the Road That Doesn’t Come Back—Retracing the Steps of War Journalist Ernie Pyle
Author David Chrisinger spent the past four years walking in war journalist Ernie Pyle’s footsteps for his new book. This excerpt first appeared in “The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II,” from Penguin Publishing Group. It’s due out May 30.
The True Consequence of War Demands Generations of Profound Loss
When the casualty notification team arrived at the door down the street, you dropped everything, and in a blinding rush toward her, saw that she was in the car in her driveway, the ignition on and her eyes fixed forward on infinity. Her son was strapped into the backseat, mercifully asleep. Others converged quickly and took him away.
‘Please Come and Apply’—The PACT Act Is the Largest Expansion of Veteran Benefits in Decades
On Aug. 2, after six days of sleeping on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, Rosie Lopez-Torres breathed a sigh of relief. The Senate, after considerable back and forth, finally passed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. The act...
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