Summary: Profiles of poet George Evans, a veteran medic, and Lynda Van Devanter, whose experiences as Vietnam nurse inspired China Beach. Warning: Graphic Depictions of Medical Operations.
I was all set to listen to Linda VanDevanter's segment and it wouldn't play. I got a message that said the link was broken. I have long been an admirer of Ms. VanDevanter's work both Home Before Morning and Visions of War, Dreams of Peace. I am an ex-Navy vet. While I didn't serve in combat, I still experienced alot of what Ms. VanDevanter did when she returned home. Serving in the military so totally changes your mentality from the way you were before you left home that you don't even know yourself. I suffered from sexual harrassment when I had joined back in 1975. In that era, it was unheard of for anyone to file any kind of complaints of that nature. Upon reading her first book, I felt a connection. She had suffered through some of the indignities that I did. I was so looking forward to hearing this and to get a message telling me the link is broken was highly disappointing.
The power of this program lies in the raw honesty of the two speakers. As they each talk about their experiences of the Vietnam War and how it turned them into anti-war activists, layers are peeled away revealing more and more of their inner spirit. George Evans is an engaging storyteller who looks back on the past in a wryful way. It's clear Lynda VanDevanter is speaking in a public forum and sometimes reading from her memoir. But the emotion which overtakes her as she reads is heart-wrenching.
The stories are interspersed with bits of evocative music that sets the tone and time. (I could've done with losing a couple of the breaks, but this is a minor point hardly worth mentioning.) This is the second program I've listened to in this series and along with reviews I've read of other pieces can highly recommend it.
Comments for MASH 1969 - Visions of War, Dreams of Peace
This piece belongs to the series "Shared Weight"
Produced by Marc Steiner and Steve Elliot
Other pieces by Center for Emerging Media
Rating Summary
2 comments
Sue Schmitt
Posted on August 31, 2010 at 05:30 PM | Permalink
Disappointment! Link Broken!
I was all set to listen to Linda VanDevanter's segment and it wouldn't play. I got a message that said the link was broken. I have long been an admirer of Ms. VanDevanter's work both Home Before Morning and Visions of War, Dreams of Peace. I am an ex-Navy vet. While I didn't serve in combat, I still experienced alot of what Ms. VanDevanter did when she returned home. Serving in the military so totally changes your mentality from the way you were before you left home that you don't even know yourself. I suffered from sexual harrassment when I had joined back in 1975. In that era, it was unheard of for anyone to file any kind of complaints of that nature. Upon reading her first book, I felt a connection. She had suffered through some of the indignities that I did. I was so looking forward to hearing this and to get a message telling me the link is broken was highly disappointing.
BlueAgate
David Swatling
Posted on November 30, 2006 at 07:41 PM | Permalink
Review of MASH 1969 - Visions of War, Dreams of Peace
The power of this program lies in the raw honesty of the two speakers. As they each talk about their experiences of the Vietnam War and how it turned them into anti-war activists, layers are peeled away revealing more and more of their inner spirit. George Evans is an engaging storyteller who looks back on the past in a wryful way. It's clear Lynda VanDevanter is speaking in a public forum and sometimes reading from her memoir. But the emotion which overtakes her as she reads is heart-wrenching.
The stories are interspersed with bits of evocative music that sets the tone and time. (I could've done with losing a couple of the breaks, but this is a minor point hardly worth mentioning.) This is the second program I've listened to in this series and along with reviews I've read of other pieces can highly recommend it.