Veteran’s Day: An Online Mini-Retreat For All

Check out Ed Tick’s article, Coming Home After War, and Charlie Pacello’s article, Broken Hearted Over Kabul: What Was It All For?

Veterans Day is the traditional Armistice Day, set aside after World War I to contemplate the costs of war and to work together for its end. We experience the ravages of violence everywhere today and that dream of war’s end has not come true. We must gather to honor the original meaning of this sacred day and help heal and transform our world.

Since the fall of Kabul many of us, veterans and non-veterans alike, have felt horror, grief, anger, and betrayal reminiscent of the final days of the Vietnam War. We fear for the fate of the Afghanistan people and the fate of our military allies that we might have to leave behind. Our hearts are broken and it is our nation’s veterans and military families who feel this anguish the most. Moral injury in our Veteran community is exploding because of what happened in Kabul.

That’s why this Veteran’s Day, 2021 is so important. We, as a nation, must honor the great sacrifice, courage, dedication, commitment, and selflessness exhibited by our veterans who serve in our names when our country calls.  We must remind our veterans that what they did mattered and was honorable, even when the need for war is questionable. The community is honor bound to come together and bear witness to our veterans’ stories and provide our moral and spiritual support as we grieve for all the losses of war.

Please join us for a virtual retreat on this sacred day. We will honor this time through song, poetry and story, teachings, ceremonies and rituals, small and large group work, and contemplation of our current challenges. A special feature will be a premier presentation of Ed’s newly published book Coming Home In Viet Nam. Gather with us to honor all who have served and sacrificed, witness and heal each other’s wounds, and transform the legacy of war and warriorhood toward the practice of peace and healing for all.