Wednesday, April 25, 2018
I want to take this opportunity to thank Kim Raseman and Angela Maria Malerba for inviting me to share the some of the works published in “Visions of War: Dreams of Peace” with the Yale Veterans Network. I hope that the readers of the newsletter have found the writings valuable and helped you to gain insight and understanding into the experiences of some of the women who served in Vietnam. While most of the writings in “Visions” were written by military nurses, there are a number of other works in the book that were written by Red Cross personnel, civilian humanitarian workers, peace activists and both South and North Vietnamese. Unfortunately, due to space and time constraints I was unable to share them all here. However, while the book itself is no longer being published, limited copies of it are available for purchase at Amazon.com.
My final submission is one of my own works, a poem I wrote following the dedication ceremony of the statue of The Three Fighting Men at the Vietnam Memorial in November of 1984. It is a tribute to the healing power of the Wall and the reunions it sparked.
IN WAR AND PEACE
flooded with feelings
of peace and love
a sense of completion
shared
with those who know
the pain and fear
of the process
we’ve gone through
from beginning to
a never ending
sense of purpose
lost for so long
in confusion and doubt
now gone lifted from me
in the camaraderie of reunion
the laying of a simple wreath
the placement of a small pin
the embrace of an old friend
and the tears of a no longer young man
saying: “Hey Pleiku ’69—Remember March
Thanks for pulling me through”
I love you all of you
Men and Women
joined together
in War and Peace
Joan A. Furey, 1984
- Link to Joan’s first feature with YVN NEWS here
- Link to our Women In War Photo Gallery
- Scroll through other original works in our features archive
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