Author Close Encounters in War Journal

Book Review: “From War Archives to War Poetry”. Taking Mesopotamia by Jenny Lewis, Oxford Poets/Carcanet, 2014

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By Sarah Montin

Jenny Lewis’ captivating collection of war poems, published in 2014, on the centenary of the First World War, appears even more relevant today as Europe finds itself once more engaged in armed conflict.

“My father died when I was few months old and I have been searching for him ever since announces the poet in her preface (Lewis 2014a, 11), presenting her collection as a voyage into her father’s military service in the First World War, initiated by her timely discovery of “a dusty old suitcase” full of “faded papers and memorabilia” in her basement at Oxford (Lewis 2014b). Fruit of extensive research at the National Archives and the Imperial War Museum – six years looking into her father’s service as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion of the South Wales Borderers – and supplemented by interviews of contemporary soldiers and war victims, Taking Mesopotamia offers a persuasive reflexion on the experience of war from the perspective of combatants and civilians alike. Fostering parallels between the British Mesopotamian Campaign of the Great War (1914-1918), the war in Iraq (2003-2011), and the 4000-year-old Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, Jenny Lewis offers a multi-layered reflection on the timeless themes of war and man’s hubris, alluded to in the book’s epigraph: “As for humans, their days are numbered/Whatever they do is like a puff of wind” (Gilgamesh, Tablet III)…

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Military Mental Health in the Ukraine-Russia War. Interview with Capt. Oleh Hukovskyy (MD) of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

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By Edward Tick and Gianluca Cinelli

Ukrainian troops. Public domain

Since 24th February 2022, Ukraine has been fighting for its independence and survival as a free nation. However, the conflict with Russia had already begun years before with the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2013. The war has so far caused immense devastation and loss in Ukraine. Dr Edward Tick and Dr Gianluca Cinelli conducted an interview with the Chief of Combat Stress Control Group Capt. Oleh Hukovskyy on 9th May 2024. The interview touches upon topics such as the treatment of psychological stress and trauma among the Ukrainian troops and the importance of this support for combat personnel on the frontline and immediately behind the lines. By publishing this interview, the Editorial Team of the Close Encounters in War Journal express their solidarity with the people of Ukraine and hope to see the war’s end very soon.

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The Wounds of War. Thayer Greene: Concentration Camp Liberator, Chaplain and Psychoanalyst

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By Nick Grabbe

Thayer Greene in the late 2010s

Private Thayer Greene had just turned 19 when he entered the city of Nordhausen  as his regiment’s lead scout. It was 11th April 1945. He had already experienced the terror of enemy soldiers shooting at him, and on this day he would witness the horror of mass murder.

He expected to get machine-gunned at any moment. As he carefully entered the city, he saw a man coming toward him in a uniform he didn’t recognize. He raised his rifle, but lowered it after seeing no weapon. The man, a walking skeleton, approached, fell to his knees and kissed Greene’s feet. “Freiheit! Freiheit! Freiheit!” he cried. That’s German for “Freedom!”

Greene had stumbled on the site of a concentration camp that had been abandoned by German soldiers as the Allies advanced. At the time, American soldiers knew nothing about the camps that the Nazis had created all over Europe. When he died in 2022 at the age of 95, Thayer Greene was one of the last living liberators of concentration camps. When his fellow soldiers entered the camp at Nordhausen in central Germany, they encountered an estimated 1,300 bodies of prisoners who had been shot or starved to death…

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Book Review: “A Veteran’s Toughest Fight. Finding Peace After Vietnam”, by David T. Klein, Jefferson, McFarland, 2024

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By Gianluca Cinelli

A Yiddish proverb, as Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi recalls, says that it’s good to talk about bygone troubles. However, Yiddish culture can be profoundly ironic, and Primo Levi mastered the subtle art of understating. Troubles that one can tell belong in the past, yet they still linger on in the present as memories. Talking about bygone troubles is good because it means we saw them through. However, it does not mean that it is pleasant or easy. It takes courage and strength to face nightmarish and painful memories. Many of us remember the Ancient Mariner, who feels the compelling urge to stop people down the street and keep them listening to his guilt-ridden story full of horrors and fear. He acts like a madman, roaming the streets like an outcast, for he lives stuck in his haunting past and never finds his way back into society. The Ancient Mariner feels he must atone for his guilt of having killed the innocent albatross and survived in the place of his comrades, who died because of his hubris. Split as he is between past and present, the Ancient Mariner is no longer whole.

Talking about haunting memories is hard but necessary to lift their evil spell, as Edward Tick writes in the Foreword to this book by David T. Klein: “Warriors have their horrific ordeals and need their stories. Story is critical to warrior healing and restoration. To restore the warrior’s spirit, we must support her or him in ‘re-storying’. To disallow storytelling, as well-intentioned brief therapies do, is to betray the warrior by blocking necessary steps in their healing and homecoming” (p. 2).

Published by McFarland (McFarlandBooks.com)

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“The Most Urgent of Dispatches”: One Language by Anastasia Taylor-Lind, Sheffield, Smith|Doorstop Books, 2022

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By Sarah Montin

In his poem “Resistance”, written in March 2022, Simon Armitage draws on the collective memory of previous wars to comment on the recent Russian invasion in Ukraine. Quoting Philip Larkin’s celebrated “MXCXIV”, the Poet Laureate inscribes his response to the conflict in Ukraine in that eternal palimpsest that is war poetry:

It’s war again: a family
carries its family out of a pranged house
under a burning thatch.
The next scene smacks
of archive newsreel: platforms and trains
(never again, never again)

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Where is your Combat Zone?

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By Charles Aishi Blocher

I am a non-combat veteran who served in the American Air Force during the last few years of the Cold War in an atmosphere that was witnessing the “defeat” of the Soviet Union and the spread of democracy in Eastern Europe. I served at Vanderburg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California (now Space Forces Base), which test-launched nuclear ballistic missile systems. These tests were a simulation of what a typical missile launch would look like if completed in the field. That is, if the U.S. were to launch our nuclear weapons from an operational missile base.

A maintenance and logistical group prepared the launch facility for operational readiness to be launched by the missile crew. I was part of this extensive maintenance and logistical group. So, where was the combat zone? Where was mine? I suggest that the “combat zone” is not always out of the country and not necessarily in armed conflict but is determined by the organization and circumstances. In my case, it was Vandenberg Air Force Base where I was in direct contact with the test launching of the Minute Man III nuclear weapons system. This system was designed to destroy large cities and enemy bases, basically rendering the enemy no means of deploying their forces. However, when a nuclear weapon is launched, there will be no one left to govern nations or deploy any troops. So, was I in a combat situation? What about other supposed non-combatants who are exposed to combat dangers or consequences? What about those members of the military who have direct contact with deploying military troops to a combat zone or those who must receive the deceased troops? Where is their “combat zone?”

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War Diary: The Diary of Mike Rogers

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By Alan Beardsley

“War Diary: The Diary of Mike Rogers” is a compelling personal narrative that offers an intimate glimpse into the life and experiences of Michael John Warrington Rogers during World War II. Spanning from the outbreak of WW2 in 1939, to the end of 1945 and the dropping of the atomic bombs, War Diary: The Diary of Mike Rogers entries chronicle the daily realities of war, from the grand strategic movements of the Allied forces to the personal struggles and moments of respite that defined his existence.

Through Mike Rogers’ eyes, readers are transported to the front lines of pivotal events such as the Dunkirk Evacuations, The Blitz and later in the War, the Battle of Normandy, the liberation of Paris, and the harrowing Battle of the Bulge. His reflections on the relentless V2 bombings and the bold, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, German Operations provide a vivid account of the war’s impact on civilians.

The accompanying website, www.wardiaryonline.com, serves as a digital archive and interactive platform where readers can explore additional content, including photographs, historical documents, and detailed maps. The website also invites contributions from those with connections to the events described, enriching the narrative with personal stories and memorabilia.

“War Diary: The Diary of Mike Rogers” is more than just a historical document; it is a testament to the resilience and determination of individuals facing extraordinary circumstances. Through Mike Rogers’ detailed and poignant entries, “War Diary: The Diary of Mike Rogers” offers a powerful and personal perspective on World War II, making it an essential addition to the study of personal narratives in wartime history.

“War Diary: The Diary of Mike Rogers” stands out for its raw, unfiltered portrayal of wartime life. The War Diary: The Diary of Mike Rogers project not only preserves the legacy of those who lived through these tumultuous times but also provides invaluable insights into the human condition under the pressures of war.

A Oral History Project: MemoGen

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The Legacy of the Second World War in the Memory of the Third Generation

Liberation of Bologna, April 1945 (Wikimedia – public domain)

We would like to share here with our readers the news about the launch of the MemoGen website.

MemoGen is a Oral History project aimed at collecting video interviews with people born in Italian families between the 1960s and the 1980s. The topic of the interviews is the legacy of the Second World War in Italian culture and society between 1945 and today.

A Short Guide to Successful Gardening in the Time of War

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By Olga Kornyushyna, in loving memory of Andriy Romanov, killed in action April 26, 2024

Courtesy by Olga Kornyushyna©

Between the day we received Olga’s story and today, the gardening company in Odessa mentioned in the text was destroyed during the Russian air strike on May 1, 2024. Thousands of plants and trees were burned, warehouses and offices destroyed. Luckily there were no casualties among the employees. The owners of the company released a video of the aftermath of the attack. 

Read A Short Guide to Successful Gardening in the Time of War