The War Collective, The War Individual Karen Wink, Ph.D., Coast Guard Academy RATIONALE Drawing from literature and music, the objective of my lesson plan is to raise students’ social consciousness about the Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan wars by first establishing the collective view, then focusing on the solders’ (and their loved ones’) more personal views about the challenges associated with physical and emotional wounds (PTSD); homesickness, purpose, love, and death. Incorporating music that matches themes of war literature has incited student interest in my English classroom and allowed students to learn more about the social and individual conflicts of the eras. OBJECTIVES As a result of the lesson, the student will be better able to:     Analyze themes of music and literature relative to the current and past wars Identify the iterary element of tone Understand different viewpoints of participants and observers of war o Gain insight into the soldier’s experience Create a project on poster board displaying a letter, song, photos, and comparison/contrast paragraph on theme within all the documents o or write comparison/contrast essay on the topic RELATED EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS:  Analyzing of literary elements  Comparing/contrasting multiple perspectives  Valuing music and correspondence/primary sources  Writing Process, Conventions, and Application TARGET LEVEL: Recommended for high school and college history, English/language arts classes. TIME FRAME: 5-6 class periods MATERIALS: ipod, ipod dock, computer, screen, handouts of song lyrics, and texts noted below: For the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, the literature includes a sampling of nonfiction letters, emails, and essays from Andrew Carroll’s War Letters (Vietnam section) and Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families. For the Vietnam war, Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carry also. The only preparation involves students’ background knowledge of the selected wars and current events surrounding the war in Afghanistan.  2010 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. All rights reserved 1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Recommend reading background information about Andrew Carroll’s War letter project: http://www.warletters.com/ PROCEDURES: 1. Using a PowerPoint presentation, provide background on major issues and conflicts associated with the Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan Wars (or, depending on students’ background knowledge, generate a list of major issues/conflicts of the wars on the board.) 2. Introduce different viewpoints (collective/outside; individual/inside) and tone. Define terms: Collective as a social thought process of thinking as a group or thinking about others as a group; individual as a personal thought process based upon experiences; tone: the attitude portrayed in the song or literature. 3. Ask students the following questions (all can refer to positive and/or negative viewpoints):  In general, how have U.S. citizens viewed the Vietnam War collectively? the soldiers’ service?  In general, how have U.S. citizens viewed the Iraq/Afghanistan wars collectively? the soldiers’ service?  How do you suppose individual soldiers view war?  In which ways are the collective and individual viewpoints contrasting in positive and negative ways? Vietnam War: 1. Distribute song lyrics and play songs: Sadler’s “Ballad of the Green Berets,” and Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” about the Vietnam War. How do they differ in tone and collective viewpoints? For contrast purposes, include Norah Jones’ “American Anthem” and Neil Young’s “Flags of Freedom” from the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars to the anthems from the Vietnam War. 2. Introduce purpose of War Letters (found in “The Introduction,” 31-37). 3. Discuss issues of physical and emotional wounds (PTSD); homesickness, love, and death revealed in the correspondence. Read sampling of letters. 4. Distribute song lyrics and play song: Pink’s “I Have Seen The Rain” and read Michael Poggi’s “Shallow Hands” (343) from Operation Homecoming (contains profanity) and “Tom McCabe, Writing to His Parents from the Hospital, Reflects on Being Back in the States After Fighting in Vietnam” (431) from War Letters. All deal with PTSD. Compare theme, individual viewpoint, and tone. 5. Distribute song lyrics and play song: Billy Joel’s “Goodnight Saigon” and read “Ambassador Graham A. Martin’s Dispatches Three Urgent Telegrams from the American Embassy in Saigon Pleading for More Helicopters” (435). Both deal with military members serving in Saigon. Contrast theme, collective and individual viewpoints, and tone. 6. Distribute song lyrics and play song: The Statler Brothers’ “More than a Name on a Wall” and read “Gold Star Mother Theresa O. Davis Writes to Her Son Richard, Killed in Vietnam, Thirty Years After His Death” (438) from War Letters. Compare theme, collective and individual viewpoints, and tone. 7. Distribute song lyrics and play song: Metallica’s “Disposable Heroes” and “Major Michael O’Donnell Sends His Friend Marcus Sullivan a Poem, That, Decades Later, Would be Read and Cherished by Thousands of Vietnam Veterans and Their Families” (438) from War Letters. Contrast theme, collective and individual viewpoints, and tone. 8. Compare/contrast individual/collective viewpoints on social and personal conflicts associated with Vietnam as reflected in the literature and music. 9. Read and discuss excerpt from O’Brien’s The Things They Carried about Lt. Cross’ individual dilemma between duty and love. Relate his conflict to sense of duty in CCR’s “Fortunate  2010 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. All rights reserved 2 Son” (distribute song lyrics and focus on sense of duty and the burdens of the individual where war is concerned). Iraq/Afghanistan Wars: 10. Distribute song lyrics and play songs: Crow’s “God Bless This Mess,” Brown’s “Homeland (I Want My Country Back),” and Harper’s “Both Sides of the Gun.” How do they differ in theme, collective viewpoint, and tone? 11. Introduce sampling of letters, essays, and emails from Operation Homecoming. Discuss themes and impressions. 12. Discuss issues of physical and emotional wounds (PTSD); homesickness, love, and death revealed in the correspondence. How are the similar/different to those of Vietnam soldiers? 13. Distribute song lyrics and play song: DMC’s “Machine Gun” and war essays from Operation Homecoming: First Sergeant Richard Acevedo’s “The Outsider” (178-183). and Staff Sergeant Jack Lewis’ “Purple Hearted” (184-188)--both from “Stuck in this Sandbox” section of text. Compare theme, individual viewpoint, and tone. 14. Distribute song lyrics and play song: Rise Against’s “Hero of War” and read “Road Work” by Staff Sergeant Jack Lewis from Operation Homecoming. Both deal with soldiers’ personal struggles to fight in combat. Contrast theme, individual viewpoint, and tone. 15. Distribute song lyrics and play song: Toby Keith’s “American Soldier” and read “Camp Muckamungus” by Staff Sergeant Parker Gyokeres from Operation Homecoming. Both deal with the humorous, ironic side of serving in war. Compare theme, individual viewpoint, and tone. 16. Continue same approach with further songs (see enclosed list of “War Songs”) and selections from Operation Homecoming. Students work in pairs to locate songs and war literature (from texts mentioned) and present theme, viewpoints, and tone to the class. The goal is to extend to other themes that involve those mentioned earlier--love, death, etc. Students write a comparison/contrast essay on a given war’s literature and songs. Note: I can bring models of visuals and essays from students’ work on this war literature and music from my classes. EVALUATION: Student responses in class discussions. Student presentations of their poster boards. Student essays. SELECTED MEDIA: “American Anthem.” (Sony). Norah Jones. (2007). “American Soldier.” (Dreamworks). Toby Keith. (2003). “Ballad of the Green Berets.” (RCA 61028-4). S/Sgt. Barry Sadler. (1966). “Born in the U.S.A.” (Columbia). Bruce Springsteen. (1984). “Both Sides of the Gun.” (Virgin). Ben Harper. (2006). “Brothers Under the Bridge.” (Columbia). Bruce Springsteen. (1998). “Disposable Heroes.” (Elektra). Metallica. (1986). “Flags of Freedom.” (Atlantic Records). Neil Young. (2006). “Fortunate Son.” (Fantasy 634). Creedence Clearwater Revival. (1969). “Hero of War.” (DGC). Rise Against. (2008).  2010 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. All rights reserved 3 “God Bless this Mess.” (Old Crow Music). Sheryl Crow. (2008). “Goodnight Saigon.” (Columbia). Billy Joel. (1982). “I Have Seen the Rain.” Pink; YouTube video of Pink and her father singing song “Machine Gun.” (RomenMpire Records). DMC. (2006). “More than a Name on a Wall.” (Polygram Records). The Statler Brothers. (1984). ENRICHMENT/RESOURCES: Since War Letters contains letters from the Revolutionary –Vietnam Wars—Persian Gulf Occupation, there are more literature and song activities to further compare/contrast viewpoints and situations. CITATIONS: Carroll, Andrew, ed. Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families. New York: Random House, 2006. Carroll, Andrew, ed. War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars. New York: Scribner, 2001. O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway, 1990. www.eLyrics.net  2010 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. All rights reserved 4