Oregon Public Broadcasting

This weekend a group of military veterans will let the public in on what is usually a very private affair—their war stories. They’re taking part in the Telling Project, a staged oral history that got its start in Eugene, and picks up in Portland tonight. April Baer attended a rehearsal.

TAG: The Portland edition of the Telling Project can be seen at Portland’s First Congregational Church tonight (Friday), Saturday, and Sunday. Admission is free. For details, or to see clips from the Eugene production, go to thetellingproject-dot-org.

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This all started for Jonathon Wei when he was working with veterans in Eugene. He just couldn’t get enough of their stories.

Jonathon Wei   “Veterans, a majority—do want to talk about their experience. And they want to talk about it with people who don’t know.”

But as much as service members want to talk, and as much as the people who know them may want to listen, Wei says it’s not easy getting started. There are some military experiences that almost defy description.

Brian Friend  :15   “I remember loading up in the truck and pullin’ through the serpentine and thinking, ‘Ah, that 200 yard stretch of dirt road—it’s right outside the gate!’ And then I saw a flash. I felt something hit my face, and I blacked out.”
 
This is Brian Friend, who lives in Portland, talking about his service with the Marine Corps in Iraq.

Brian Friend  :20    “We hit an anti-tank mine. When I woke up I remember seeing this bright light all around me, it was like everything was on fire. The blast actually blew the truck five feet in the air, and ten feet forward onto the asphalt. We couldn’t hear anything. All we heard was (HUM—all join in). It’s just—it’s horrible….” (fade down)

Brian Friend and his story are part of the new show, produced by Jonathon Wei, based entirely on veterans’ oral histories -- hours and hours of taped interviews. The Telling Project is performed entirely by the veterans who lived these stories: stories about joining up, stories about basic training and military life. And, inevitably, stories about war.

Jeremiah Washburn    :23    “So we’re sitting on this bird, and they keep the blade spinning. It’s been a brutal f*cking (bleeped)   week for all of us. We know the enemy’s out there watching the site, and we’re going to be walking right into ‘em”

Jeremiah Washburn is 34, a father of two, and has served with three different military branches.

Jeremiah Washburn “I don’t know about the other Blackhawks, but on ours, everyone just sat in that bird, quiet.Making peace with God or whatever.  Getting ready to go off and get killed.”

The Telling Project reflects grief – the loss of friends, feelings of guilt, or sometimes just a lack of feeling, but also a great deal of irreverent humor, and surprising self-discovery by young men traveling the world.


Most of the Portland cast is under 30, but the show also includes older vets, carrying pain that’s been buried for decades.

Joe Cantrell   “It has chased me around like a mad goose after a farm boy. It’s been so hard.”

Joe Cantrell served two Navy tours in Vietnam. He’s been dogged over the years by PTSD, but still agreed to mine his experiences  for the Telling Project.

Joe Cantrell   “I couldn’t not. I had this feeling that you pay for these things, you suffer through these things. You own them.”

With that ownership comes a responsibility to share the experiences, and maybe - in some way - reduce the suffering of others.

The Portland edition of the Telling Project can be seen at Portland’s First Congregational Church Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Admission is free. For details, or to see clips from the Eugene production, go to The Telling Project .