Bridging the Civilian and Military Divide

media release: This year, we hope you’ll join River Valley Commons as we explore ways to better understand and support our veterans.

This three-part series will begin with a lecture on bridging the civilian and military divide by Doug Bradley and Leanne Knobloch on July 11th at 6:30.

From there, we’ll learn more by reading and discussing Erin Celello’s book Learning to Stay on July 27. Free copies of the book are available at local libraries and we’ll hand out more at the July 11 lecture.

We’ll be hosting a writing workshop for veterans on October 14-16 at Bethel Horizons. Civilians can help by sponsoring a veteran’s attendance.

More on the July 11 event:

Leanne and Doug will share stories and research to honor those who have served and to educate civilians about the challenges facing veterans and how to help. Dessert reception and time to learn more about available resources for veterans will follow the lecture.

Leanne K. Knobloch is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research examines how military families communicate across the cycle of deployment and reunion. Her scholarship has been honored by the Golden Anniversary Monograph Award from the National Communication Association, the Biennial Article Award from the International Association for Relationship Research, and the John Garrison Award from the International Communication Association. In 2015, she was named a University Scholar, which is the highest recognition of faculty excellence bestowed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

She serves as a Science Advisory Board Member of the Military Child Education Coalition and a research consultant for REBOOT Combat Recovery, which offers combat trauma healing courses to military personnel and their families. Her research on military families navigating deployment has been funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Doug Bradley has written extensively about his Vietnam, and post-Vietnam, experiences. His latest book, Who’ll Stop the Rain: Respect, Remembrance, and Reconciliation in Post-Vietnam America, has been described by noted historian H. Bruce Franklin as “a brave and invaluable attempt to bring us back together…a potent medicine for a sick nation.”

After graduation from college, Doug was drafted in March 1970. He served as a combat correspondent for the U. S. Army Republic of Vietnam headquarters at Long Binh, South Vietnam, from November 1970-November 1971. He relocated to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1974 where he helped establish Vets House, a storefront, community-based service center for Vietnam era veterans.

A founding member of the Deadly Writers Patrol, Doug is the author of DEROS Vietnam: Dispatches from the Air-Conditioned Jungle and co-author, with Craig Werner, of We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War which was named best music book of 2015 by Rolling Stone magazine.