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Travis Martin and Journal of Military Experience

March 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Imagine yourself trying to transition from a life lived in combat to one lived here amongst civilians, realizing that 99% of those around you will never be able to comprehend where you have been and what you have seen.  Thousands of veterans are returning home from war to find themselves having to reshape their skills and knowledge into something tangible so that they can exist in this new and strange reality that civilians call normal.

Travis Martin joins VOW Talk Radio on Tuesday, March 27, to share about how he is working with veterans to give them an outlet to translate their entirely foreign experiences into a language that others can understand. He will introduce us to The Journal of Military Experience and tell us about an upcoming opportunity for veterans to get involved in a three day workshop, the Military Experience and Arts Symposium being held in July.

Travis served two tours of duty in Iraq as a sergeant in the 51st Transportation Company. He holds an MA in English from Eastern Kentucky University, where he founded The Journal of Military Experience. Travis is a McNair Scholar, a Madonna Marsden Writing Award recipient, and was awarded the National Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Grant. His work as a veterans’ advocate and community leader was recognized by the Kentucky state legislature in 2011. Currently, he teaches and is a PhD student at the University of Kentucky. His research interests include trauma, autobiography, and war memoirs from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In spring 2012, Travis has forthcoming publications in War, Literature, and the Arts, The Kentucky Philological Review, and Writing on the Edge.

The Journal of Military Experience’s (JME) first volume was released in April 2011. Travis worked with student veterans at Eastern Kentucky University to compile prose, poetry, and artwork. Funds from the JME go directly toward EKU’s Operation Veteran Success” in the form of two scholarships.

The JME earned the prestigious “Program of the Year” award from Student Veterans of America in 2011. In addition, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi awarded Travis and the JME one of 14 literacy grants throughout the nation to help fund volume 2. Volume 2, set to be released in July as part of a “Military Experience and the Arts” symposium, boasts a talented and credentialed editorial staff as well as the works and research of veterans and scholars from all over the world. To learn earn more listen to VOW Talk Radio or visit militaryexperience.org.

First published at voiceofwarriors.com

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About Beth

I have what I consider to be the best job on the planet. I have the privilege of supporting and encouraging the brave men and women who were the uniform of the US military. I did not set out to start a nonprofit organization, I simply did what came naturally when my son joined the US Marine Corps in 2004. I followed my mother’s heart.

As the mother of three boys, I spent countless hours as home school mom, room mother, team mother, and parent volunteer. One day I found myself to be the adopted platoon mom to a unit of Marines. What started out as a mother sending care packages to her son has turned into a fast-growing nonprofit that keeps me busy day and night, and I love every minute of it!

When I mailed the first care package several years ago, I had no idea that I would have an opportunity to send out thousands of care packages each year and become an advocate for Wounded Warriors and Veterans suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. When I became the mother of a disabled veteran suffering with TBI and PTSD, and saw, firsthand, the struggles and the needs, I knew it was my obligation to support those who have been willing to stand in the gap for my freedom. It’s the least I can do to say thanks.

I work with various programs in our community, as well as other advocates and organizations to meet the needs of our military and veteran population in Central Kentucky. I also have the privilege of serving on the board at Voice of Warriors and enjoy hosting VOW Talk Radio’s weekly program on Monday nights.

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