News

WDEV Interview with VTH board member Jon Turner

Oct 24, 2023
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“When you have the opportunity to find common ground and to sit and to listen to the other’s experience, and to do so without judgement, that’s really when you can build a community…”

Jon Turner, Vets Town Hall board member and emcee, spoke with WDEV host Brad Ferland about his transition from military to civilian life, and about building community through Vets Town Halls.

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19 Events in 9 States

Oct 22, 2023
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This fall, veterans will be invited to speak about what their service means to them, and all community members are encouraged to attend and listen, at events in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, Vermont, and Washington. These events are spearheaded by local organizers with the aim of increasing understanding and creating connections between veterans and non-veterans in their communities.

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The Boston Globe: Veterans reach out about their needs, one town at a time

Dec 14, 2022
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“War is one of the most unique experiences in the world, and it’s an experience that is incredibly hard to understand unless you’ve been there.” Vets Town Halls are intended to help bridge that gap. “It doesn’t matter if you’re liberal or conservative, gay or straight, rich or poor” in combat, Junger said. “And in…

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The Guardian: ‘A sacred space’: Sebastian Junger and Seth Moulton on Vets Town Hall

Nov 14, 2022
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“In this ‘dire time of polarisation’, Junger said, Vets Town Hall might provide ‘kind of a sacred space. I’m an atheist, but I use the word sacred all the time. It’s a sacred space in the sense that ordinary life is suspended and here we are in this place, and we’re honoring something, and we’re…

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Vets Town Hall host

VTDigger: Bestselling author Sebastian Junger registers nonprofit for veterans in Vermont

Nov 3, 2022
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By starting Vets Town Hall, Junger said, he hopes to reinforce the connection between veterans and their communities. “We are of one nation and we’re doing this together, and the people that actually pulled the triggers were sent there by us.” …[Fellow board member Jon] Turner said storytelling plays a central role in veterans’ events…

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Boston Globe: We need a new narrative for the Afghanistan War

Aug 25, 2022
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Dan Vallone, a veteran who served in Afghanistan, writes, “We forge new narratives by challenging what we think we know about the war, not with facts, dates, and figures, but with stories: of hardship and lost friends; of triumphs small and profound; and of pride, confusion, anger, and alienation. We can begin by holding town…

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Sebastian Junger at SVA NatCon 2022

Jan 13, 2022
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“I’m here to tell you now that your country still needs you. And they need you because you have experienced what unity, real unity, feels like.” Sebastian Junger spoke about coming home, community, and the purpose of Vets Town Halls at Student Veterans of America‘s National Conference on January 8, 2022. Listen to Sebastian’s talk…

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Help Sheet: Running a Vets Town Hall

Nov 24, 2021
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We’ve just uploaded an updated printer-friendly PDF version of our Running a Town Hall page. You can download, print and share. Don’t forget to let us know how your town hall goes, or get in touch to ask any question.

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speaker at a Vets Town Hall

Speaking at a Vets Town Hall

Nov 22, 2021
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At a Vets Town Hall, veterans of any era who have served in any capacity have the right to stand before their community and speak for up to ten minutes. We’ve posted some notes and starting points for speakers, and uploaded a printable speaker info sheet.

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‘What it’s like to go to war’: Veterans share their stories of service, suffering, levity (Cape Cod Times)

Nov 16, 2021
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HYANNIS — Tears streamed down Paula Smith’s face as she stood behind a podium, sharing her anguish over leaving her children when she served in Iraq in 2009. “I was so far away from my babies,” she said. “That was one thing I didn’t figure into my preparation for deployment. How would I make up the time that…

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