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SO, WHY DOES THIS GUY WANT MY WAR JOKES FROM HELL? --

"...A compelling way to show how war changes soldiers and reflects

the soul's numbing after the shock waves of killing and chaos."

For the past couple of weeks, we have been running an ad (above) seeking your "war jokes from hell."

A number of readers have asked me exactly what this is all about.

It's about a book.  And there's no better way to describe it than to let the gentlemen seeking your jokes explain all about it.....

See below:

-------------------------

Why do I think a book on the grim humor of combat is important? It occurred to me that real combat jokes infused with gallows humor, accompanied by well written essays, could be a compelling way to show how war changes soldiers and reflects the soul's numbing after the shock waves of killing and chaos. In WW II, Korea, and Vietnam, Americans were fed a steady, innocuous diet of Readers Digest "Humor in Uniform" material, a bland, predictable collection of military hijinks and jokes depicting war as a kind of comedic relief, with not a drop of blood or tears of anguish in sight. Today, the 'war on terror,' bereft of good news, has bred its own dark satire.

My idea jelled several months ago after receiving a request for submissions from an independent publisher seeking material for a Vietnam vet combat anthology. I forwarded the email to other vets including, Tony Swindell, who I'd met several years ago via counterpunch.org. Over the last few years we've both written for its hard copy and online versions. As contributors to the anthology, we pondered a unique approach to telling a story about war that would educate families and friends of combat vets, as well as other civilians, about the heartbreaking toll combat takes on every soldier it touches during their time in hell.

Tony liked the idea, as did my friend George Dickerson, an acclaimed actor, writer and founding editor-in-chief of a well known literary magazine. George could not recall a book in his long literary career taking this approach to combat, and was intrigued by the concept. As a result, we sent queries to fellow vets, contacted several veterans groups, and took out ads with VAwatchdog.org and Army Times. In addition, we expanded the original idea to include all wars, all branches, and even war drawings, cartoons and photographs that depict the dark, bitter humor of combat. Thus far, responses have been slim, especially from Iraq and Afghanistan vets.

To all who served and saw their share, we invite you to send us your best combat jokes from hell. Email to: silverspartan@gmail.com.

NOTE FROM LARRY SCOTT:  I encourage you to take part in this project.

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posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org

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