Questionnaire- Soldier Veteran

Wordsof WAR

QUESTIONNAIRE- SOLDIER VETERAN

THANK YOU for being willing to help us in our quest to create believable and credible characters and situations for our stage play project. The goal of our play is to depict how soldiers begin their service holding certain beliefs to be true, and emerge several years, or tours, later a changed person, emotionally and often, physically as well.

There are numerous questions included and while it may seem daunting, we hope you will answer honestly and openly. ANY question that is uncomfortable to discuss or inform about, just skip. Conversely, any question you would like to elaborate on, please write your thoughts on additional sheets of paper.

One of the aspects we wanted to focus on was the communication methods used by soldiers and their families/friends during their time overseas. Certainly this is an area that has changed from WWII (letters primarily) to now (Skype, Facebook, emails). It would be truly helpful to review COPIES of any letters, postcards, notes, cards, emails, and other communications made by soldiers while they were on duty during war time to ascertain how the emotions of a soldier changes from the beginning to the end of his/her tour of duty and how the words used to communicate feelings were from era to era, war to war.

Unless you choose to have your information shared, the only persons who will see your responses to the enclosed questions are three people; the playwright (DonnaMarie Vaughan), and two development people who assist with reviewing, marketing, secretarial and administrative work. We can’t guarantee that anything you tell us will or will not be in the blend of the finished project- ‘development’ by its very nature means constantly changing until final- but everything people share with us is meaningful to the essence of the finished work.

And with that said…. let’s begin! Date completed: ______

Name: ______

Address: ______

Address2: ______

City/State/Zip: ______

Tel #: (______) ______Cell: (______) ______

Can we call you with additional questions or clarifications? _____ Best time: ______

Email: (if applicable) ______

If this email if for a family member/advocate, please indicate name: ______

Are you on Facebook? ____ if yes, under what name: ______

Do you Skype? ______

If you reside in Western NY area, would we be able to do a personal follow-up? ______

Keep my info Confidential: ___YES __DOESN’T MATTER

When you went into the service, did you live in the same area (town/city) that you currently live in? ___

If not, please indicate where you lived at the time you went into the military:

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Which war(s) did you serve in: ______

Which branch of the military did you serve in? ______

1) ENTRY INTO THE MILITARY:

Please tell us how you came to enter the military:

I ___enlisted ___was drafted __was recruited through school ___ was recruited in another way

___ went to recruitment office on my own __ went to recruitment office with friends

___ attended officer’s school __attended a military academy

___ Other: ______

Were there special circumstances/enticements? such as:

___ promises of a sign up bonus ___means to obtain college education __ability to serve with friends

___travel the world ___ wanted to make the military my career

___Other: ______

What was the initial amount of time you agreed to serve? ______

How long did you actually serve in the military? ______

What is your current age? _____ Age when you entered military ______Age at discharge ______

Rank when you entered military______Rank when you were discharged ______

What were the months and years of service: ______, ______through ______, ______

Are you currently in military service? ______

If yes, when do you expect to be discharged? ______

Please provide a breakdown of the physical location(s) (city, country) where you went, any particular ‘named’ battles you were engaged in, and approx. times/dates spent there:

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How many MONTHS TOTAL were spent in an active military combat areas: ______

2) BOOT CAMP/BASIC TRAINING:

Where did you attend boot camp? ______

How did you travel to your assigned Boot Camp (bus, train, plane)?______

At the time you entered boot camp, did you already know you were going to be sent to war?______

When you went to boot camp, what was the ‘family’ you left back home? (mom, dad, wife/husband, children, boyfriend/girlfriend, brothers/sisters, etc.)

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How did your family feel about you joining the service and going away to fight in the war? Do you remember any specific things your mom, dad, grandparents, siblings or friends had to say about it?

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How long after beginning boot camp before you were allowed to communicate with the ‘family’ you left behind? ______

While you were in boot camp how often were you allowed/able to communicate with your family?

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Please indicate what methods of communications you used to communicate with friends and family while in boot camp:

___ letters mailed ___ emails from computer on base ___emails from personal phone/laptop

___ phone calls from boot camp site ___phone calls made off base __cell phone owned by you/others

___ posts/updates thru Facebook or similar ___Skype or similar

What was the preferred method(s) of communication you used? ______

WHO did you call most often: ______

WHO did you write to most often: ______

WHO did you email (if applicable) most often: ______

When you communicated with friends and family, what did you talk about? Were you honest with them about the things you were feeling, the treatment you were receiving, etc.? ______. If no, please indicate what ‘things’ you either omitted/didn’t chose to discuss/brushed over, etc. Also, please indicate WHO was the one person you were the most truthful with (and why them).

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The training you received in boot camp included what? ______

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When you attended boot camp, was it all men, all women, or a mix? ______

During boot camp/Basic Training, did you rethink being in the military? ______If yes, tell us why you remained in the military anyway? (AWOL, threat of jail, embarrass family, etc.) ______

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Many people enlist because they believe/are told they will received special training in a field or skill they desire to learn. However, this does not always end up happening. Was what you thought you would be

trained in what you were trained in? ______If no, please explain the difference: ______

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If your training and skills were different than what you assumed/wanted/were promised, was the resulting skill better for you than what you had originally desired to know/learn/be? ____ Please explain:

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What were some of the things you liked MOST about boot camp (for example, the physical fitness, the organization, the camaraderie, etc.)

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What were some of the things you liked LEAST about boot camp (for example, food, physical training, learning to obey order, early hours, hard work, drills, etc.) ______

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Did you make friends with someone from boot camp you remained friends with after you were discharged? ____ If yes, please tell us about this: ______

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In the spaces below, please share any special memories of boot camp. For example, did you find it tough but rewarding? a horrible experience? did you get homesick? did you get physically sick? were you amazed at how fit you had become? did you just want to go back home? were you worried about being sent away to fight? (if needed, add additional paper marked #boot Camp-Memories)

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Who, if anyone, attended your graduation from boot camp?

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Did the opinions of your family change once you graduated from boot camp and they knew you were in

the military for at least the next 4 or more years? ______

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If your family knew that once you graduated that you were being sent overseas to fight in the war, did their attitudes or feelings change since you went to boot camp? ______

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Any other comments you’d like to share about boot camp? ______

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#3 AFTER BOOT CAMP –PRIOR TO WAR

After boot camp, what happened next? Were you sent directly overseas? ______If yes, continue to next page. If no, continue on this page.

After boot camp, were you assigned to a base?____ If yes, what base? ______

Once on that base, what additional training and skills were you provided? (example: radar skills, tank maneuvers, learn to fly a jet, medical procedures for the field, etc.)

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Did others from your boot camp accompany you to the same base or were soldiers split up?

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When(at boot camp, on a base, during training, etc.) were you informed you would be sent to war? ______

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How were you informed (separately, in a group, etc.) ______

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Were you provided with specifics, such as the exact place you were going? ______

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What were you told you would be doing, (as specific as possible) once you were overseas?

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Do you remember what your thoughts were when you were informed you were going to war?

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Were you able to/allowed to inform your family you were going to war, and did you? – if yes, please indicate the method(s) used (letter, phone call, email, etc.) ______

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Once you were told you were being sent overseas, how much time elapsed before you actually left?

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Were you able to have time off prior to that to go home? ______

If yes, did you make it a point to see (people, places) or do anything particular before returning?

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Did the thought ever enter your mind that perhaps you should NOT go back after leave? ______

Once you knew you were going to war, were you provided with any additional training that the military service thought you needed in preparation for where you were going and what you were going to be assigned to do? If yes, please explain: ______

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Did you have doubts that you were not adequately prepared for war? ______If yes, please explain:

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We are looking for memories of how you felt when you realized this was actually going to happen- you were going to be sent overseas to a place you’d probably never been or would choose to go, where the expectation would be that you would kill someone if necessary. If you could share those thoughts, it would be appreciated. What did you feel that last day on US soil before knowing you were leaving?

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4) SPECIAL TRAINING/SERVICES: [If applicable –otherwise skip to page 9, #5]

(additional information can be on a separate sheet of paper marked #4-Special Services)

Were you asked, or did you request, to receive any ‘Special Forces” type training or unit? ______

(such as Army Delta units, Navy SEALs, etc.) If yes, please explain how it came to be:

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By being in a ‘special forces’ type unit, what training were you provided that was above what was considered ‘average’ in other units:

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If you are able to share the name (official as well as unofficial) of the unit you were trained in, please do:

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Any comments you want to make about special forces training, the men/women you trained with, the objectives of your training, etc.?

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If you were in a unit that was considered “Special Forces” do you still see any of your comrades? _____

How many people were in your ‘unit’? _____ How many made it through the war? ______

5) FIGHTING THE WAR

Please explain what happened –physically – from when you left USA soil to when you landed in a war zone. Were there stop overs, were you on different planes, did you land in Germany first, etc.

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Please share with us your emotions during this trip from USA to foreign soil and war zone:

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WHERE, specifically, did you end up ? ______

Did the service people from your base join you, or were you placed in an entirely different unit?

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Military troops are provided names, such as Battalion, Unit, Troop, etc., depending on the branch of service – what was the name of the ‘group’ you fought with:(for the purposes of this questionnaire, we will use the

term ‘unit’) ______

Approx how many service people made up your ‘unit’? ______

Was your ‘unit’ comprised of men, women, or men and women together? ______

Was your unit comprised of the same ethnicity; white, African Americans, Latinos, etc. ? ______If no, please provide an approximate breakdown of the mix. ______

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What happened -specifically -after you arrived on foreign soil in order to fight the war? (please use additional paper if necessary-mark it #5-Arrival). Explain the first few days/weeks.

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If you were informed what you were going to be doing when you got overseas to the war zone, did this change once you got there? _____ If yes, please explain: ______

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When you arrived to fight the war, what clothing-specifically-were you provided/required to wear:

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When you arrived to fight the war, what weapon(s)–specifically- were you provided/did you use?

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What other essentials were you provided/required to have? ______

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Did you wear or carry anything not military issued? (photos, jewelry, religious items, good luck charm):

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Do you remember any ‘odd’ items that other soldiers carried with them during the war? ______

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Before we get into the tough stuff, let’s deal with something fun- the food during war time! Please share your memories of food and eating while you were overseas - types of food you ate, how it was served (hot, cold, lukewarm), was it any good, did you often go hungry, did the food make you sick, did you eat C-rations, did you long for food from home and if so-what did you crave the most?, how did soldiers ‘fix up’ the food to make it more palatable, etc. (please add additional sheets, marked #5-Food, if necessary)

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Now for the Tough Stuff: Your Experiences in the war. Since this can be so varied, we are simply providing space for you to write down whatever you’re willing to share.We are interested in the battles you fought; the memories of the soldiers you fought with; the losses you saw; the emotions you had (good and bad); how you and other soldiers dealt with fighting (religion/faith, anger, liquor, becoming emotional-less, etc.), illnesses you suffered; the fears and/or exhalations you may have had; things you learned or things you taught other; etc. Please be as specific as possible whenever you can. We are particularly interested in the ‘memories’ that for whatever reason, good or bad -seem to stay with you the most. (if you need more space, attach paper and mark it #5-Experiences)

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Were you ever wounded? _____ If yes, please explain where, when and what the injury(ies) was/were:

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If wounded, do those wounds still affect you presently? ______

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What were some of the injuries you saw other soldiers sustain? ______

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Did you ever kill while in the war? ______If yes, approx. how many? ______

Was the person(s) you killed an enemy of the USA? ______

Did you ever wound or kill someone who was not a specific enemy of the USA? Such as friendly fire (hurting one of our own) or an innocent bystander or commoner unrelated to the war? ______

What weapon(s) did you use to accomplish the killing? ______

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If you are willing to talk about it, please share with us the circumstances surrounding the killing(s) and how you felt after the first time you killed someone,

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If there were additional killings, did your emotions change? (We understand this may be difficult to discuss, but emotional reality helps make our project believable and identifiable to other veterans (each one of our soldiers kills someone) and to the non-veteran public as well. If you need additional space, please add paper indicated as “#5-Killing)

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Were you ever captured, tortured, held against your will, interrogated, injured, or otherwise mistreated by the enemy you were fighting during the war? _____ If yes, please provide details:

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Do you relive this time now, in the present? ______

Do you suffer from PTSD? ______What ‘level” would you say it is? have ways to deal with it, causes problems in daily life occasionally, severe –causes daily life challenges ______

War can be hell, but it often has moments of fun and silliness, pranks and such. While on active duty and in the war zone area(s), would you share your memories of times spent, alone or with others, that were pleasant/joyful to remember? Did you read books, look at porn, play cards/football/baseball, pull pranks, play music, watch a movie, do drugs, make up songs, teach another soldier a skill you knew, learn a new skill, go on the internet, etc. (If you need more space, please attach paper indicated as #5- FUN TIMES)

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