My experience

Voices of war was a great and very interesting class. Not only did we get the opportunity to experience the importance of the military but how difficult it is. Like Professor Paulino mentioned, the class was like a group of people entering basic training and coming out victorious. That was really my experience during the entire semester. Learning not only from readings but from great videos shown in class. what a take from the class is specially learning to appreciate what these individuals do for our country as well as for us. It was an incredible ride i will definitely do it again if the chance comes up. Thank you professors, keep it up.

My Thoughts

Voices of War was a very interesting class. I got to see behind the scenes from documentaries of soldiers in war. The interviewing a veteran project was a great experience. I got to see how someone who was there, felt about the war. It was not censored up. I saw for what it really was.

My Experience

Unfortunately, My veteran(who is my father) didn't sign the form to upload pictures and his audio on the web. For some reason, he didn't want to do that, so I will just write about my experience in this course.
I feel like this course was an adventure to Iraq and to the Army. It was very impressive to know what soldiers went trough on their basic training. And it was sad to see what happened to some of them when they came back home form Iraq.
This course was well presented by professors and if not them, I would still think differently about VA(when they didn't help many soldiers) or I wouldn't know about it at all.

Marina Fomychova.

This picture is in 1965. He was 21 years old. He served until 1967.

I added a part of the interview. I liked this because it was touching to hear speak about the death of his friend.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/11653658717918eb/

Rafael Lopez "Once a Marine, Always a Marine"

Rafael Lopez is my uncle through marriage. He is married to my mother’s maternal aunt. Rose and Rafael have three children and seven grandchildren. He lives in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
He was born in Aquadilla, Puerto Rico. When he was two years old, he moved to Spanish Harlem. He went to high school there. To my surprise, Rafael’s brother was a marine. Rafael was not drafted. He entered the marines because of his brother.
At first when he went into the recruiter’s office, he was too small. He weighed only 107 lbs, so before he could join he had to bulk up. Rafael did his basic training in Parris Island. Rafael Lopez served two years in the military in the Vietman war. Those two years were enough to affect his whole entire life to this day. Rafael was a rifleman. He served in infantry. He also witnessed the deaths of his friends. He served the frontlines leading him to seeing all the death and destruction. Rafael was in favor of the war, at first.
Rafael said his discontent for the war started when his friends started dying. One of his friends was snipered right in front of him. He greatest upset was the "dirty" lieutenant who lead his men into traps and other dangerous situations that could be avoided. The traps lead to the death of his men by friendly fire. Rafael said he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The va did not help at all the psychologist would talk to him no one helped me. He broke his wrist and he said they barely helped him then imagine for something not physical or tangible.
He could not sleep, hostile, and paranoid. He said he had trouble showing affection to his wife and newly born daughter whom was one at the time. He even said his daughter looked Vietnamese. He said he did not like when people would creep up on him he would swing automatically. He also had troubles with loud noises. His troubles did not only lie with his family but with protesters as well. He did not mind protest, but he does not like when people wave the flag of Northern Vietnam. He felt they were supporting the people who were killing Americans. He seen some of his friends die in front of him. He felt people do not care about the soldiers even now.
He feels today people still do not care about the soldiers. His does not belive society cares about soldiers or their health.

MIchael Cunningham

Sgt. John Blazer, Mike Cunningham and Walter Pokrzywa

Mike Cunningham and Johnson (June 1968)

Michael Cunningham

Michael Cunningham

Michael Cunningham was seventeen years old when he first sought out a military recruiter. Michael served in the U.S Marines from 1967 to 1969 and was deployed to Vietnam to fight in the Vietnam war in 1968. Michael was stationed in Marble Mountain in the Da Nang area of Vietnam. He recalls many casualties in his unit, the kilo co. which has effected him greatly. The biggest reason for those casualties were boobie traps. Michaels said that his experience in Vietnam was an expecience unlike any other. Going to Vietnam and fighting has made him the man that he is today and he wouldn't take back going if he could. Michael said that the friendships that he has come out with from Vietnam are like no other, the men that he served with had became his brothers and they still stay in contact. Michael was honorably discharged in 1969, he wanted to get married and have children. He is proud to be a veteran and also has a website with some of his buddies that he served with.
http://www.three27.com/

Michael Cunnigham

MIchael Cunningham

MIke Cunningham

Mike Cunningham and John Barca March 22,1969

Interview with Matthis

Most Memorable moment

Recent Veteran Treatment

Going Back

Michael Cunnigham

This is Michael Cunningham and Ricky Riley June 29th 1968.

Matthis Chiroux

Matthis Chiroux is a member of the Army Individual Ready Reserve, he was on active duty for about five years before being discharged July 2007, he then moved to Brooklyn. He started college at Brooklyn College in January.
Matthis Chiroux "grew up all over the south" but from about 10 years old until he joined the military he lived in Auburn Alabama. Military recruiters where in contact with Matthis as early as eleventh grade. Matthis' reasoning behind enlisting into the Army is very similar to almost all young people, opportunity. Matthis' turbulent relationship with his family caused him to leave home at a very early age, almost immediately after he graduated from high school. Matthis' decision to leave home at that early of an age severely limited his options, as time passed and his option began to dwindle even further he enlisted into the army in mid June about one and a half months after he graduated high school.
Matthis' Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was 46 Quebec, which is Public Affairs Specialist/Writer. His duties included planning executing and producing news stories. Primarily print stories and photographs for use on the web or in print publications.
Matthis served in Japan on the island of Okinawa, after Japan he served two years in Heidelberg Germany while there he served as a strategic communicator for the U.S Army Europe Headquarters, a major command Headquarters, and while there he traveled extensively throughout Europe, he also served in Afghanistan, for about a week. Matthis went there to cover a story about a unit of American soldiers who were part of a training unit designed to help soldier perpare for combat at training bases specifically Hoensfeld Germany and they were deployed under the direct command of Romanian battalion.
Matthis also served on the island of Palawan in the Philippines, in support of a bilateral military exercise conducted between the United States Military and the Filipino Military.
Matthis said throughout the whole experience the only thing that kept him going was the thought that three or four or five years from now he would be in college and that would make it worthwhile. In February of 2008 Matthis received orders from the Army requiring him to report back to active duty on June 15th for a yearlong deployment in support of operation Iraqi Freedom.

Interview with Michael Ciero

http://www.zshare.net/audio/1198626652d7a33c/
http://www.zshare.net/audio/1198638800ec00a0/

My VeT- John M Veldran

~ here is a picture taken by his fellow soldiers after he passed out~

John M Veldran is a fellow student here at John Jay College. I recently met him this year. His personality and charismatic behavior makes him a pretty funny guy. He and I share the same english 101 class. In class he's well spoken and usually one of the few to participate in all discussions. He brings humor to every class, although this is true when we engaged in a conversation about his experience over seas in the War in Iraq he was a little more reserved. John grew up and still lives in Bushwick Brooklyn. John decided to jion the military as a way out of going to school. He speaks highly of his experience in Iraq however complains about the heat and sickness while there. One thing that stands out to me was the story he told of his fellow soldier PVT Lenon who was 30 yrs old from NJ, that had committed suicide. During the interview he didn't go into details of the incident, but some time later when we were talking he did. He explained how he and a couple others witnessed PVT Lenon on the phone speaking to his girlfriend and while on the phone a few mins later raising a gun to his mouth and shooting. This story stands out because it brings realization to the hardships in war. At the end of the interview John made a statement that reads "I think that for someone who has no direction for their future, or sense of direction period the military is the perfect start. You get a chance to explore the world. Discover yourself and your identity. You develop a sense of pride. Out here you're invisible. There you are somebody more confident".

South Vietnam Map

This is a map of South Vietnam and at the top where it has a little mark next to it on the upper left hand side, that is where Michael was located during the Vietnam War.

Michael Ciero

This is another picture of Michael during his time served in South Vietnam.

Michael Ciero

This is a picture of Michael Ciero during his time serving in South Vietnam in the early 1970`s.

Mike Karpenkopfm

I got a chance to interview Mike Karpenkopfm, he is a United States Marine Corp. He grew up in Kharkov, Ukraine and migrated to the United States in 1992. He enlisted into the Marine Corps right after he graduated from Fort Hamilton high school, in Brooklyn. He was 18 at the time. He was raised in Brooklyn, but now resides in Staten Island. He did 3months of basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina. He also did 2 weeks in North Carolina for combat training and then another 3 to 4 months of military specialty training. Mike went out to Iraq for the Invasion in 2003. He served that year from February through May. His task while in service was to secure a certain area which was the oil fields. Mike is now 25 and he is inactive reserve . He can be called back to war until 2009.

Interview with Reinaldo Martinez

http://www.zshare.net/audio/1192206816d02f8f/

I especially liked this part of the interview because i think we get a good understanding of my veteran here. We get to hear why he supports our country going to war and basically why war is necessary. I also picked this small part from the interview because i really liked one line that he says. "Even though war is bad and people get killed there is always someone out there who wants what you have and the only way your gonna protect it is through war sometimes." I like this quote because not only do I completely agree with it but we see a more rational reason for a country needing to go to war .

Reinaldo Martinez

This is my veteran Reinaldo Martinez. He served in the Army during the end of the Vietnam war. He was in the Army under the Airborne division as a medic. The first picture was taken in 1971 and he was only 19 years old at the time. The second picture is of him and his wife at a family wedding.

Kevin Walter United States Marine

Kevin Walter was born in Central Islip New York. Kevin is 27 years old. He was in a ground combat unit 1st Battalion 5th Marines. It was part of RCT 5 which stands for regimental combat team 5. His mission was to clear objectives. He served for four years seven months and twenty six days in the Iraq war.

In Kuwait ready to go home

United States Marines

Kevin in Australia

Top of mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima Japan

Monument of the 2 brothers in South Korea

Southern Oil Fields

A rare moment of sleep in Kuwait

“No better weapon than one taken from a dead enemy”

Marine Carlos Texeira's Interview

Link to Carlos interview


http://www.zshare.net/audio/1182513374ff3ee3/]dw_b0007.wav - 46.86MB

My brother and my father pictures

My brother Ivan Filipov (left) and my father Angel Filipov (right). My brother served in the Army for 1 year and my father served in the Air Force for 22 years.


Inside MIG 23












This is my brother Ivan Filipov who served in the army for 1 year 2002-2003. He served in Bulgaria / Pleven.













This is one of the airplanes my father used to operate on.

Hand grenade

During the second week of basic training they would have "soon to become soldiers" throw hand grenades a long distance, The picture above is Olmes diaz throwing a hand grenade.

Soldier Olmes Diaz

Olmes Diaz is the second soldier from the bottom row with some of his partners. This picture was taken when he arrived at Fort Gordon to mark the beginning of a wonderful experience.

Graduation from basic training

The picture above was the last day at training camp for Olmes Diaz, before becoming a Military Police for the Army. The graduation took place at Fort Gordon, Georgia.

Olmes Diaz was send to Fort Gordon to complete his basic training. Fort Gordon is located in the state of Georgia. It is a United States Army Installation, The main componment of the post is the Advanced Individual Training for Signal Corps military occupational specialites.

Marine Carlos Texeira

..:: Canon Crew Men ::..

"I was an artillery man. They would put us behind some canons, shoot basically. Load them up with bombs. It was a huge canon, had a huge tube and we would just take bombs and load it up in there and shoot.”Cannon Crew men we were called."

Marine Carlos Texeira

-->First Impression<--

First impression of Iraq “It was kind of crazy, it seemed like a waste land…..Abandoned. It looked like a land of nothing. Everything was destroyed and you see sand everywhere, like dust.”-Texeira

Marine Carlos Texeira

{[Some free time]}




They entertained themselves by “Playing playstation, watch TV, they also had special things for us. Dave Letterman came over to Iraq. People also went to the gym.”-Texeira

Marine Carlos Texeira

..::Al Fallujah::..

Served “In Al Anbar Province, Sunni Triangle like 20 miles northwest of Baghdad in Fallujah....We served seven months over there. From 2004 till like March 2005.”-Texeira

"We were over there basically to do convoy operations, transporting supplies, we had to run the gate (main entry points) and basically we had to protect the base. We were like guards."-Texeira

-->Saddam Hussein $5 dinars<--

Marine Carlos Texeira

“Every marine is a riffle man”. -Texeira






"Everybody had to learn basic infantry techniques. After boot camp, you had to go to a school where you learn basic infantry skills. Then after that you go learn whatever your occupation is. So after we did that for like two months, I went to Oklahoma. It was an army base, that where we went for our military occupation. It was all about the canons over there. We was over there for like three months. "-Texeira

Marine Carlos Texeira

..::Rules of Engagement::..

"The rules of engagement, you cant fire until they shoot first. I hated it. They had a big problem with the IEDs, they make bombs out of cars. They used to come to the base all the time. How were we going to search that? Fuck, i had to be the one who had to search them, the lower ranking people. Troops were the low ranking people. I used to be searching hoping the car doesn’t blow up. But you just had to do it. "-Carlos Texeira