Veteran's Chapter

WWII was definitely portrayed to the American public in a different way than Viet Nam or Afghanistan.

What happened? Ernie Pyle writes of brave men. Men wearing a soldier's uniform doing a soldiers job. Every man he writes about is a hero, even the other war correspondants.

The other interesting thing is that there isn't anything about the politics of WWII in his book. It's just about men who go to war to do a job. They itch to get to the front to see action and then as soon as they see what war is all about they itch to get home.

The men of WWII are as civilized as soldiers can be. The worst off, the infantry who sleep on the ground and just keep plodding forward for months that turn quickly into years.

Ernie Pyle's writing is simple and pure. It gets the point across vividly. You feel as if you are eating k rations, living in a foxhole and burying the dead. The chapter on taking Omaha Beach is just as explicit in his style of writing as Steven Speilberg showed in his masterpice, Saving Privat Ryan.

Afghanistan Through My Eyes

My Editor at Solares Hill thought my idea was fantastic and wanted to help, but it was ultimately up to the Editor in Chief at Cox Publishing.

No go with him.

What next? Who do I know that could help?
Then, I remembered I know an editor at The Saturday Evening Post. I contacted him and he too thought the idea was fantastic and the adventure of a lifetime. He put me in touch with the Editor in Chief at the Post. He liked the idea, but what's the hook, what's the story? Egad, I realized then that I had to come up with a story.

Of course it would be a bit ridiculous to go all the way to Afghanistan, 1/2 way around the world to just hug soldiers...

I thought about all the combat reporters I knew or knew of. I thought of Ernie Pyle. When I was a girl, my branch library was Ernie Pyle's house. He was my first real life hero. I picked up my copy of "Brave Men" and began to read.

Afghanistan Through My Eyes

How could I get a new press pass?

I contacted a friend who was on staff at the NYTimes, who had been embeded with troops in Iraq. I specifically asked him not to mention it to my daughter with whom he was friends with as I didn't want to worry her. After all I, even though I was committed to going to Afghanistan, it may prove to difficult to get to and I didn't want to alarm her.

I was hoping the NYTimes could somehow sponsor me.

He emailed me back with a treasure trove of information that included the fact that the NYTimes only sent 'Staff' writers like him to places like Irag and Afghanistan. Next, he emailed my daughter who immediately called me and aske me if I was out of my mind.

But this gave me the idea of contacting the paper I write for using a pen name. Maybe they would indemnify me, thus paving the way for a press pass.
Solares Hill

Afghanistan Through My Eyes

The first hurdle for me to go to Afghanistan is to get a press pass.

I had a press pass once. It was from CBS. During the Presidential election of 1972, when I was 14. My Mom was in charge of an election precinct. Apparently, results needed to be reported to CBS. My Mom believed that involving me would somehow make me interested in politics. For making this phone call and reporting the numbers to CBS I got this cool CBS press card, which I still have today...somewhere. It's not the kind of thing you throw out. It takes up no room and is very neat'O. In fact I carried it in my wallet until I was in my early twenties.

However, I don't think this particular press pass from 1972 will work. Especially, since it has on it in big bold letters, 1972 Election Coverage.

Afghanistan Through My Eyes

After thinking about this idea and talking it over with some friends, I decide to give it a go. But I also decide that I will just go with the flow; if it's meant to be, it will happen.

I read the embed forms and anxiety surfaces.

I am a C+ form filler outter. I actually feel form illiterate, always putting my name in the wrong place, and generally just not putting the right answers in where they go, it brings back test taking all over again. I know the answers, I just can't recall them correctly to fill in the form! It must be something spatial with the lines and the one dimension of paper and print.

There are a lot of qualifications for getting embeded with a military division during a war. Probably a good thing.

So I break the qualifications down in hurdles. Now hurdles I was good at. In fact I set a school record in high school for running the hurdles.