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Local Veterans Will Host First “Veterans Town Hall”

by | Nov 4, 2019 | Because You Served, News

Veterans from all branches of the service are invited to attend the Town Hall event. This photo of Vietnam vet Irvin Brawley was taken at last year’s Veterans Day Ceremony. (Bill Giduz)

 

Local citizens of the greater Lake Norman community are coming together in Davidson for an inaugural “Vets Town Hall” next Monday. The mission is to help bridge the gap between Veterans and the civilian community. Veterans will be afforded a place to meet, as well as the opportunity to talk to other veterans and the public in a Town Hall style format.

This event is scheduled to take place at approximately 15 minutes after the conclusion of the Town of Davidson’s Veterans Day Event which will be held at 11:00 a.m. Veterans of the Vietnam War and the Iraq/Afghanistan war will serve as moderators of the event.

The organizers anticipate a 12:15 p.m. start time and will begin the forum no later than 12:30 p.m. The Town of Davidson Veterans Day Event is scheduled to take place on the steps of Town Hall, located at 216 S Main St.

The “Veterans Town Hall” will take in the Board Room inside Town Hall.

All too often, veterans leave traditional Veterans Day events with their own personal story and rarely have a chance to express it to each other or the public. The “Vets Town Hall” will be scheduled for two hours and will allow any Combat Veteran to speak for approximately five to ten minutes. The public is encouraged and welcome to listen to vets and their stories. The premise is simple: the more veterans and civilians understand the complications from war, the better it is for both.

Moderators will ask that Veterans to speak freely about their combat experience: what it felt like, and anything else they would like to share about their transition back to the civilian community. No self-promotion, promotion of a business, religious, or political ideology will be permitted. This event is intended to be a focused opportunity to build community and reveal the more human side of personal experiences that occur at war in a Town Hall style format.

The idea and format for this was conceived by Sebastian Junger, prominent author and documentarian known for his work “The Perfect Storm,” “Tribe,” and the documentary “Restrepo.”

A more detailed description of the event format can be found here:

This event is being organized by Tom Rynne, USMC; Bob Doran, USMC; Christian Boggiano, Army; and Mike Murphy, Army. The day-of event will be moderated by Christian Boggiano and Mike Murphy. If you have questions prior to this event, please contact the organizers via the event information website. Allow 24-48 hours for a response.

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