Visual Rhetoric 2

Image of Vietnam Reflections by Lee Teter retrieved on November 19, 2010 from:  http://www.qsl.net/n/n6tx//veteran/

This painting is of a man visiting the Vietnam wall.  He appears to be a Vietnam vet visiting the wall to see the names of some friends he lost during the war.  It is obviously many years after the war and his life has moved on.  He appears to be no longer a soldier, but a businessman of some kind.  As he touches his hand to the wall, the men he is visiting appear as reflections.  He seems to be lost in thought or weeping.  I have always thought the hand touching his and the man attached to it is him, when he was a soldier.  Perhaps that part of him that was young and innocent; lost during the horrors of war.

Pathos is evident in the painting.  Pathos is something which appeals to our emotions.  The emotion of grief, of having lost friends or part of oneself is evident.  The man is trying to reconnect with his past and what he left behind there.  This is shown by his physically touching the wall.  His head is hung low, indicating his grief and sadness.  One could also see that his business attire and that he survived the war as representative of survivor’s guilt.  He continued on in life, while the men left in Vietnam cannot continue their lives and become successful.  They are gone, and he goes on without them.

Mythos is also in the painting.  Mythos is something that refers to familial feelings, patriotism or shared social mores.  The flag at the bottom of the wall, and the wall itself, are symbols of patriotism.  I would say that familial feelings are represented in the reflections of the lost soldiers.  Groups of soldiers are often referred to as “bands of brothers.”  The man in the painting has lost his brothers, and we can all relate to the loss of family members.

Visual Rhetoric 1

Cartoon retrieved from http://www.bluestemprairie.com on   11/29/2010

This image is showing a veteran during Veteran’s Day, possibly at a parade.  He is explaining to a couple of children the meaning of his medals.  This image is directed at other veterans, who know the difficulty of obtaining health benefits from the VA.  The purpose for the cartoon is raising awareness about veteran’s health benefits.  This is a message straight from a veteran.

Logos, ethos, mythos

The first bit of visual rhetoric this image has is logos.  Logos is anything written that conveys a statement.  The veteran is pointing out to us that he has fought in Iraq; he has fought in Afghanistan and now is forced to fight at home for healthcare from the VA.  The statement being made is that veterans stand up to do a dirty job and then they must keep fighting to have injuries they may have sustained during combat cared for.

The next piece of visual rhetoric is ethos.  Ethos is use of images to instill trust and confidence.  The two images of trust in this cartoon are the flag and the soldier himself.  The flag is often used to convey a sense of trust, whether in a product, politician or company.  The soldier is a ranking decorated member of the military.  He appears to be a sergeant, which to other junior members of the military means someone to look up to.  Even to the uninitiated civilian, he is wearing stripes.  The stripes themselves are seen by many as something to look up to.  He also has three medals, which shows that he has been somewhere and done something, also an indicator of his importance.

Finally is mythos.  Mythos is using images that invoke feelings of patriotism, familial feelings or community.  The use of Veteran’s Day and the American flag are patriotic images.  Veteran’s Day, as written on the banner, is a day associated with patriotism.  The flag is a very patriotic symbol with Americans.  It’s image can be very stirring and unifying.

A last word

Over the course of the last few weeks, I have written about the GI Bill in many of its incarnations.  From its early days as a response to genuine fears of an economic collapse at the end of the Second World War, to the disgraceful treatment of Vietnam vets and finally to the excellent forward looking program it is today.  In the end, I think I can say I enjoyed the process.  Not that it was an easy one.  I spent many days staring at a blank screen, taking little YouTube video breaks and generally trying to avoid hauling myself through what is an admittedly dry topic.  But I learned something.

          Just because a topic is dry, and this rivaled the Mojave for its aridness, doesn’t make it any less important.  The sacrifices of those that came before me needed to be told.  I was originally going to interview two members of my hometown Veterans of Foreign Wars post.  Unfortunately, Mike and Dutch have both passed on in the three long years since I have seen them. 

          Mike was a World War II vet and formerly the Post Commander at good old VFW Woodstock 5040.  Mike flew in bombers during the war, and always had great insights into the past.  It was Mike that first interested me in the history of American Veterans.  The subject he had the most to say about was the plight of Vietnam vets after their war.  You see, Mike never agreed with the policy to keep the ‘Nam boys out of the club.  He always had thought that they were given the bum’s rush when they came home and felt a little bad about it.  After all, to him, one veteran had seen enough of the horrors of war to belong.  Unfortunately, few in the governing body of the VFW agreed with him, and Vietnam vets weren’t allowed to join until the 1980’s.

          Dutch was a Vietnam vet and fiercely proud of his service.  He was a very active member of the post as well, though I think that may have been due to the cheap beer available at the cantina.  He was also very vocal about veteran’s rights and the poor treatment he received when he returned from Vietnam.  Dutch fought to open up the VFW to all veterans who fought for their country in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.  I learned a lot from Mike and Dutch, and I wish I had the chance to interview them.

          Veterans of my generation owe a great debt to those that came before.  It is imperative that we do not let them down.  These benefits are more than just a right given those that have served.  It is a duty.  A duty to learn succeed and improve the world they have left to us.  And to never forget the long road it took to get us here.

Image retrieved 12/16/2010 from world wide web http://www.firelink.monster.com/

Never again will one generation of veterans forsake another

I am, in some ways, very lucky.  The Post 9/11 GI Bill has afforded me the opportunity to continue my education.  I don’t know how many veterans will qualify for this version of the Bill, but I do know that any that have served for the past 9 plus years will.  There are those that say that this war, my war, is becoming the next Vietnam.  I disagree.  The defining characteristic of Vietnam was not that of a war lost or a victory for youth culture, but of a nation that lost its veterans.  The men and women that served in the conflict have been stereotyped, marginalized and forgotten when convenient.  This will not happen this time.

          This generation of veterans has the benefit of the lessons learned by those that ignored and misused the veterans of Vietnam.  We are being properly cared for.  Even the youth of this country have learn that, despite being veterans of an all volunteer military, we didn’t want to go to war in the first place.  We went off to war willing, and after the events of the day this Bill is named for, signed up in droves to defend our country.  But no one hates war like a soldier.  We deserved something.  We deserved to have an advantage of a proper education.  On 30 June, 2008 we got what we deserved.

          Virginia’s own Senator Jim Webb, himself a Vietnam veteran, proposed this new bill on 7 January 2007, the day after he was sworn into office.  In June of 2008, President Bush signed the Bill into law, with benefits going into effect on 1 August 2009.  This was truly a great day for veterans of the protracted Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns.  The door was wide open, and all we had to do was step through.

          Senator Webb’s bill was not easily passed, however.  The President Bush, Senator John McCain and even members of the Department of Defense were opposed.  The thinking was, at the time, that such an excellent benefits package would seriously hurt retention of active duty troops.  As late as early June 2008 President Bush threatened to veto the bill if it came across his desk.  Amendments to the bill, including transferability of benefits to the children and spouses of active duty service members, were made.  This compromise finally brought the Bill’s detractors around and the greatest veterans benefit package since the end of the Second World War.

          The benefits included are excellent.  A qualifying veteran is eligible to receive their full tuition paid, with a state by state variable maximum pay out.  Also, each veteran will receive the basic allowance for housing (BAH) that they would have received for their pay grade when they were discharged.  The exact amount of this BAH payment varies by their location.  In addition, the veteran receives a $1000 per year stipend to defray the cost of books and supplies.  This is a massive perk of service, and also a potentially lucrative recruiting tool.  The promise of a better education has been an enticement for veterans for many years.

          In all, the Post 9/11 GI Bill was a brilliant piece of legislation.  America has always tried to take care of its veterans, with varying degrees of success.  After the failure of the post Vietnam era, America has finally gotten things right.  I can only hope that it will last forever, and that there will never be another generation of veterans that gets the short end of the stick.

Shankar, R. (2009). Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008         Harvard Journal on Legislation, 46(1), 303-321. Retrieved from Academic         Search Complete Database.

Image of GI Bill logo retrieved 12/10/2010 for World Wide Web           www.veteransadvantage.com