'Visions of Veterans' reveals impact of war experiences

Sometimes, forgotten stories are finally told through art. And some of those stories are now being told through art created by U.S. veterans in an exhibit that fills the lobby and halls of the Vietnam Era Educational Center at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial at the PNC Arts Center.

"Dog Tags" by Kerry Brown "This is record-breaking for us," said Beryl Brenner, art therapist at the Day Hospital, located at the Brooklyn, N.Y., campus of the Department of Veterans Affairs. "We have never been in Holmdel before with our art, and this is so important because 99 percent of the time, artwork in these places is done by nonveterans. The artworks displayed [in Holmdel] are all done by veterans who have served this country."

The exhibit, "Visions of Veterans," will run through Feb. 15 at the memorial, showcasing approximately 24 pieces created by veterans who have served during the past 40 years.

"It's very expressive, and you can tell there was a lot of thought and emotion put into the art," said Kelly Watts, executive director of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial and Vietnam Era Educational Center. "Everyone here has really enjoyed it because it is different from what we have here. We mostly have letters and photos that tell veterans' stories, but art gives the opportunity to be expressive about their experiences."

"My Vietnam Experience" by Dindal Soogrim The collection of art encompasses works from veterans who have served in war theaters including Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, among others.

"It spans different times from Vietnam but also from Iraq, and it is easy to see the ties that pull all the groups together," Watts said.

For Brenner, the exhibit is a way for the general public to recognize the work of the men and women who have served the nation.

"I say it like this: 'Got Freedom? Thank a veteran!' Kinda like the 'Got Milk?' ads," she laughed. "We owe our freedom to them, and the older I get, the more I realize they are taken for granted. In the program, we have kids in their 20s to people who have served in Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and even Korea. We even have a homeland security veteran, and people wouldn't even think of those people plowing through luggage and whatnot to keep our country safe."

"Women Served Too" by Paulette McArthur Artist and veteran Chumagali Ali served with the Marine Corps from 1964 to 1970 during the Vietnam era, serving two tours with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment and a later tour with C Company.

Ali's work, "Zippo's Raiders: Captain Lee," features a Zippo lighter and the slogan "Find 'em, Fix 'em, Fight 'em."

"The Zippo lighter was a strong symbol for any Vietnam vet," Ali explained. "It was a well-used tool, but it also became a tool to erase what we had seen."

Ali said that Vietnam veterans used the lighter as a symbol to burn away their experiences.

"The motto was to burn everything behind us and take nothing of the past back to the real world," he said. "We used the Zippo as a tool to do some of our work, and we used it to relax and smoke the five cigarettes that came in a C-ration."

For Ali, the art therapy program has lifted some of the loneliness left over from that dark time in his life.

"Zippo's Raiders: Captain Lee" by Ali Chumagali "Through the art and coming to the sessions, it made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore," Ali said. "I wasn't alone with my thoughts. Sometimes we all feel like we are useless and no one really understands. But when I come here, I talk with the other veterans and we feel like a family. I feel like I won't die alone now."

Ali said he wants the people who view his art to learn something about that time when veterans were not popular among the rest of American society.

"I want people to not think that the Zippo is a bad symbol, but as a symbol of something that helped us keep our sanity during the war," he explained. "We always said that once you get back to the world, the rest of life was really no sweat."

For the American soldiers who left their homes and country under a mandatory draft during the Vietnam era, many came home to a hostile public,

Brenner said.

"Fortunately for younger veterans, we now have a sensitivity that wasn't there during Vietnam," she said. "Then, it was a draft, and at 19 these veterans were taken from nice, cushy homes in the suburbs, sent to a jungle, traumatized, and then came home only to have people spit on them while in their uniforms in an airport or some other public place."

Brenner said that this art exhibit is groundbreaking because of how many facets of veteran life the artwork reveals.

"It wasn't just men who served in the armed forces, either," Brenner said. "The 24 pieces total run the range from Iraq vets and their experiences all the way through Vietnam. That 35- to 40-year span includes the way a woman may view things during wartime differs from the way a man might."

Artist and veteran Paulette McArthur served from 1974 to 1981 with the Air Force and was stationed overseas during Vietnam. Her piece, "Women Served Too," draws attention to the often-overlooked involvement of American women in the military during that time.

"I want the world to see women in the military as well," McArthur said. "I wanted to show my point of view of the situation."

McArthur said the feelings she experienced while stationed in places such as Germany, Italy and Korea were conflicting.

"There were times when you really missed home, especially at Christmastime," the Jamaican native said. "But other times you were happy to be with your fellow airmen and women. At times it felt very much fun, and other times it was sad and lonely."

McArthur said she participated in the art program and created a work of art to let out pent-up emotions.

"This was good for me because I had to get these emotions out instead of bottling them up inside," she explained. "When doing something like this, you have to concentrate your mind and be free and relaxed."

Brenner said the artwork is not limited to the Vietnam veterans' experiences.

"We have [Iraq] vets doing work as well," she said. "So much credit has to be given to the veterans, and nobody knows who these folks are. There are a lot of stereotypes about who a veteran is, and the longer I work with them the more I feel the need to help them speak up for themselves through any way, be it art or some other way."

Brenner, a professional artist, has worked with veterans and the arts for the past 30 years, taking a job with the Army to teach arts and crafts to veterans at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. She said that right from the beginning, she fell in love with the extraordinary group of people.

"In the late '70s as a professional artist with a master's degree, I was pretty much unemployable, and so I sent in my application to the Army and I spent 12 years teaching arts and crafts at Fort Hamilton," Brenner explained. "I absolutely fell in love with veterans. In the late '70s we had to evacuate the building almost every day because of the anger toward the military, and bomb threats were issued, but I went back to work each day. Hopefully, we have learned from then and all of the negativity that seemed to follow these people."

Brenner said she has witnessed older veterans taking younger former soldiers under their wings, as they share their common experiences to alleviate whatever anxieties may be left over from their time spent in conflicts.

"It is so interesting, because now I hear the conversation between the older and younger veterans, and the older veterans ask what it feels like to fight in a war and the enemy physically looks identical to the allies," she said. "The experiences these people share may differ, but the sentiments are very similar. It's not easy on them."

According to Brenner, the artwork created was made possible with help from Materials From the Arts in New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs.

"We really strive to get a show for the artwork done by veterans," Brenner said, "because there are about a billion misconceptions of who a veteran is, and there are misconceptions about how they think and how they view things. Veterans are the only ones who really experience what it is to be a veteran of a war."

"Visions of Veterans" can be viewed at the Vietnam Era Educational Center at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial through Feb. 15. The educational center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for senior citizens and students. Children under the age of 10 are admitted free, as are veterans or military service and active military personnel.