New Jersey Peace Action's 56th Annual Soup Luncheon

This Veterans' Day, New Jersey Peace Action (NJPA)  Announces Its 56th Anniversary Soup Luncheon To Honor Veterans by Highlighting theHealing Arts Work by Military Veterans throughThe Combat Paper Project   
Contact: Madelyn Hoffman, Executive Director, New Jersey Peace Action, 973-259-1126   
The event is November 16 from 11:45 am to 4 pm at Bloomfield High School, 160 Broad St., Bloomfield, NJ.  Forbes Magazine reported last week  that over 1 million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered injuries, but the Department of Veterans' Affairs stopped releasing those figures so we wouldn't be aware of this gruesome milestone.  To read this article, click here. NJPA's November 16th Soup Luncheon at Bloomfield High School features 5 veterans from the wars in Iraq, Somalia and Vietnam, talking about how The Combat Paper Project helped them deal with the trauma of their war experiences. The veterans will address the gathering of community members and peace activists on the theme of "Transforming War Memories: Combat Paper Works by Military Veterans and Family Members." "It's very much a release," former Army medic Eli Wright said in an interview aired on PBS Newshour, which profiled the work done by Combat Paper NJ. "You know, the first time I started doing it, I felt like I was just letting off the pressure. You know, I felt like there had been all this pressure building up and I had nowhere to turn and no outlet. And it felt -- the first time I started cutting the uniform, I was literally, you know, separating away, tearing away at the fibers of war."  include:  Jan Barry (US Army, Vietnam) Poet, author, journalist and college journalism instructor. Combat Paper and Warrior Writers Advisory Board member, author of Life After War & Other Poems (Combat Paper Press) and other works. Sarah Mess (US Army, Somalia) Combat Papermaker, served in war zone field hospital in 1993 United Nations mission in Somalia.  Walt Nygard (US Marine Corps, Vietnam) Artist, writer and author of The Summer Joe Joined the Army (Post Traumatic Press). Combat Paper NJ and Warrior Writers workshop instructor; vice president, Veterans For Peace, New Jersey chapter.  Jennifer Pacanowski (US Army, Iraq) Combat Papermaker and Warrior Writers workshop leader, After Action Review contributor, author of Whose Soul Is That?  Eli Wright (US Army, Iraq) Began working with Combat Paper while on active duty, Combat Paper instructor at the Printmaking Center of NJ.   "We are pleased to present the Combat Paper Project at this year's Soup Luncheon, just a week after Veterans' Day," said Madelyn Hoffman, Executive Director of New Jersey Peace Action. "It is important for those of us who do not serve in the wars the U.S. chooses to fight to hear just how much these wars impact on those who do. The veterans' trauma is our trauma - and we need to understand that before we so quickly support any future war."   include:  Jan Barry (US Army, Vietnam) Poet, author, journalist and college journalism instructor. Combat Paper and Warrior Writers Advisory Board member, author of Life After War & Other Poems (Combat Paper Press) and other works. Sarah Mess (US Army, Somalia) Combat Papermaker, served in war zone field hospital in 1993 United Nations mission in Somalia.  Walt Nygard (US Marine Corps, Vietnam) Artist, writer and author of The Summer Joe Joined the Army (Post Traumatic Press). Combat Paper NJ and Warrior Writers workshop instructor; vice president, Veterans For Peace, New Jersey chapter.  Jennifer Pacanowski (US Army, Iraq) Combat Papermaker and Warrior Writers workshop leader, After Action Review contributor, author of Whose Soul Is That?  Eli Wright (US Army, Iraq) Began working with Combat Paper while on active duty, Combat Paper instructor at the Printmaking Center of NJ.   "We are pleased to present the Combat Paper Project at this year's Soup Luncheon, just a week after Veterans' Day," said Madelyn Hoffman, Executive Director of New Jersey Peace Action. "It is important for those of us who do not serve in the wars the U.S. chooses to fight to hear just how much these wars impact on those who do. The veterans' trauma is our trauma - and we need to understand that before we so quickly support any future war."