Writer Seeking Veterans for Interviews, details inside

Dear Reddit Veterans,

My name is Jon. I am a reporter/writer who works for the websites Patch.com, WickedLocal.com and all their affiliated papers. I currently live in a Boston suburb called Winchester.

I am contacting r/military today because I am putting together a book of non-fiction about the stories of the men and women who served in our country's armed services during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope by contacting r/military to set up interviews with veterans. My work is unsolicited and being created of my own accord with nobody else currently helping with the process.

Concerning the contents of my work, I am looking to craft a piece of non-political, non-fiction that tells the stories of the men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan from all branches of our military. We hear so much about the statistics behind these wars, the costs in human life and dollars, but rarely do we hear from the veterans themselves. Rarer still does your average American hear the tales of what actually happened on the ground, the day-to-day, the moments that have stuck with our veterans for good reasons, or bad.

It is my goal to compile the tales of our veterans dealing with duty, honor, sacrifice, love, hate, fear, anger, happiness, doubt, confusion, joy, misery, pain, sadness, weakness, strength - anything and everything that veterans are willing to share. The purpose of my interviews are to take craft non-fiction short stories of the experiences I gather from veterans interviewed that displays the emotions described above or any others they evoke. The overall goal of this book would be to capture the idea and events of these wars from the minds of those who fought them. I am not simply looking to craft a book about violence and combat, but a book about what it meant to our veterans to serve. The stories can be large or small, common or uncommon, any meaningful experiences that have stuck with you; stories that influenced you one way or another, stories that you think people should be aware of.

When I think of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there seems to be a disconnect. I want to get the stories of how our servicemen and women deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan dealt with their time spent overseas and coming back home. I am looking to create a book that centers around the experiences of their military life, not a political manifesto of why these wars were advantageous or not to our country and those occupied. The ultimate goal of my book would be to inform the public about the inside stories concerning these wars in order to bring a much needed realism to the past ten years of conflict America has been involved in.

At this time, I have no literary agent and no means of selling this piece of non-fiction for a profit. However, if any profit would ever be made, I would donate half the income to a veteran's organization, I am researching these now and am leaning towards the Wounded Warrior Project. For now, I am simply crafting this work and gathering interview subjects. However, once I feel I am ready, I will seek out publishers. Although published in many print and online newspapers, this will be my first book.

It should also be noted that I am using pseudonyms for my subjects as privacy is a big concern.

I am reaching out to r/military in order get in touch with veterans and add further stories to become part of this compilation.

I have interviewed several veterans already for this work and for my job as a reporter. I understand the sensitive nature that is involved with veterans detailing their time spent in the service and all the hardship that can go with reliving these experiences. Needless to say, the entire work is of a sensitive nature. In dealing with veterans, I do my utmost to ensure my subjects are respected and not pushed into discussing memories they are not comfortable relating. I have the highest adoration for our men and women in uniform and will convey this in my interviews and finished text.

As a 30-year old, non-military man, I am an outsider looking in. However, I believe this is just the perspective needed in order to better understand what it means to fight for America, and all the tales that they will forever live with.

If there is a story you would like to share, please message me via reddit and we can further discuss how to set up an email, phone or in-person interview/open dialogue. Thank you for time and for your service to our country.

Respectfully, Jon