Standing Together: The Humanities and the Experience of War is an NEH Initiative facilitated in Maryland by the Maryland Humanities Council that seeks to promote discussion, deepen understanding of service members' experiences, and provide opportunities to reflect and give voice to issues of concern to veterans.
Jim Perry served in the Marine Corps Reserve as a Truck Driver from 2002-08 and was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006. After returning home, he became an 8th grade U.S. History teacher in Baltimore. Here he reflects on public reaction to his service as he returned to civilian life.