My name is Bryan Bielefeldt, I am a student here at WCSU.

I am an art major, a graphic designer and a computer science minor.

But, I am not a “traditional” college student. I was enlisted in the Army as an airborne infantryman and now I am a veteran, with experiences that range from a combat parachute assault into northern Iraq to over 15,000 miles driven in Afghanistan in some of the most treacherous terrain I’ve ever seen.

When I was asked to speak today I wasn’t sure if I was going to accept. After reading “The Things They Carry” I realized the underlying significance of this book to our community. With so many young people such as myself coming home and having to live with the experience of war, I feel our communities are ill equipped to assist in the transition for those returning. Out of a platoon of 30 soldiers I have had 2 friends commit suicide due to the lack of support from our V.A. and their communities. Sgt Colman Bean, and Spc. Jake Swanson.

That’s very difficult for me to say out loud but it is reality.

Our community will benefit greatly by exposing themselves to a small part of a thought process experienced by many veterans of today’s generation. Not that they would “know” but more in the realm of recognizing the sensitivity of those returning.

If you were to approach any veteran and ask them if they needed help or someone to talk to the majority would probably refuse or even be offended. That may be due to their independence but more than likely it has to do with the stigma surrounding mental and physical health in the military. I feel this community read may not only help those that are not veterans but also those that are, simply by creating a commonality, a talking point or even a silent understanding.

And to quote a section from the book, speaking of courage, page 149, second paragraph,

“He lived with his parents, who supported him, and who treated him with kindness and obvious love. At one point he had enrolled in the junior college in his home town, but the course work, he said, seemed too abstract, too distant, with nothing real or tangible at stake, certainly not the stakes of war.”