PURPLE HEARTS, VETERANS OF THE WAR IN IRAQ STUDENT ACTIVITIES ACTIVITY 1 Notice that most of the soldiers are photographed in civilian clothes and backgrounds/situations. Why do you think the photographer and/or subjects have chosen to do this? ACTIVITY 2 Art has proven an extremely effective form of therapy. Mostly, it is the process of making art that proves so helpful to the traumatized, or looking at artwork to help trigger therapeutic discussion. In Nina Berman’s photographs, however, the veterans are the subjects of the art. How might the Iraqi War Veterans have found this particular role in the artwork helpful to them personally, or in their readjustment to civilian life and in reconnecting with civilians, family and friends? ACTIVITY 3 Photographs can offer great insight into people, places, and even time. In this exhibit, the viewer sees the veteran now, with a narrative of the event that brought them to this point in their lives. Have the students bring in a photograph of themselves that they feel represents them well as an individual and write their own narrative to further explain what decisions, people, and events in their lives brought them to the moment in the photograph. Or, have them bring in a photograph from a magazine, newspaper, or the web, and write a narrative that they think would help explain what events or people led to the moment in the picture. ACTIVITY 4 How might the students’ impressions of the photographs be altered if the photographs had been in black and white—would they have made the veterans and their stories seem less real/more distant, or more dramatic perhaps? ACTIVITY 5 Have the students look at any of the Purple Heart photographs, while keeping in mind photographs such as Laszlo Kondor’s Wounded Buddy, Americal Division and Dean Sharp’s Waiting for Medevac or Carried on My Back, on the wall around the corner in “The Things We Carried.” How do their impressions of combat, the soldiers, and/or the military change when contrasting the images that are taken within moments of the injuries sustained versus those taken after some time has passed and some healing has occurred?		TEACHER PACKET CONTENTS About the Purple Heart The War in Iraq Map of Iraq Student Activities Bibliography