Prominent area veteran to talk about impact of war on soldiers
02.19.10
Albany County Executive Mike Breslin will take part in Tech Valley High Schools soldier project, visiting the school on February 26 to recount his time in service and speak about the transition back to civilian life.
Breslin, a former paratrooper and Vietnam veteran, will talk for about 40 minutes to juniors at the regional public high school starting at 12:35 p.m.
The juniors – some of whom are close to the age
of the men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan – are
answering a tough question as part of the project – What are the
costs of war for soldiers returning home?
The students have been hearing this month from veterans of a variety of wars and
studying known troubled areas for veterans, such as unemployment,
finances, medical and mental health and family problems. They will
then use the information to write collective creative articles that
demonstrate their understanding of a veteran’s perspective and ways
of coping with the demands of life when they return from duty, said
teacher Mary VanHoomissen.
The students, VanHoomissen said, have already seen the one-man
production about the troubles of a returning veteran, “The Things
They Carried,” and are currently reading the novel of the same title
by Tim O’Brien.
Almost all of the students taking part in the project know someone
directly who has served in the military and been deployed.
