Exploring the three faces of combat

The experience of military combat, including training for it and recovery from its effects, will be the topic of a Racine town meeting on Thursday, May 15. The meeting will examine how men and women are prepared to kill and the consequent costs to individuals and societies.

"Few people are really interested in learning how to kill other people or in doing the killing," said former Army lieutenant Buzz Davis. "Yet millions of American men, and now women, are trained for combat. How is this done, how do they bring themselves to kill and what impacts do the death and destruction have on their lives afterward? This is what we will discuss along with how the cycle can be broken."

Soldiers' Lives: Training for Combat, Serving in Combat, Recovering from Combat will begin at 7 p.m., preceded by a reception at 6:45 p.m., in the Huron Room of the Racine Building of Gateway Technical College, 901 Pershing Drive.

This event is sponsored by the Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice and the Racine Interfaith Coalition. It is free and open to the public.

Presenters are leaders of Veterans for Peace.

Buzz Davis, Stoughton, is a former 1st Lieutenant with the U.S. Army in infantry and communications. He served in Korea 1967-1970. He is a union activist and former VISTA Volunteer. He was a member of the Stoughton City Council and the Dane County Board of Supervisors. He is chair of the Wisconsin Impeachment/Bring Our Troops Home Coalition.

Elton Tylenda, Madison, is a teacher (philosophy, theology, psychology) and writer on issues of war and peace. He is a combat veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in Vietnam 1968-69, as a combat engineer and high voltage lineman in the Central Highlands. He is co-author of the book Long Shadows: Veterans' Paths to Peace