Date

3-22-2024

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Chair

Jennifer Bell

Keywords

military, memoir, authenticity, service, truth

Disciplines

Creative Writing

Abstract

The roots of this thesis lie in a daily journal written in a tattered notebook while deployed to the war-torn city of Baghdad, Iraq. The artist's statement tells the story of how the tragic events of 9/11 led to a decade of service in the military and how a simple daily journal kept during combat became the foundation for a memoir. Times passing, memory issues from injuries sustained overseas, and conflicting stories led the author to question the accuracy of military memoirs. The critical theory paper evaluates authenticity in memoirs, the challenges to truth and memories, and the consequences of deliberately falsifying accounts. Ten years of military service in the Army Infantry and four harrowing combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan culminate in the creative manuscript, You’re Welcome for My Service: Part One.

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