A Literary and Personal View of the Impact of War on the Warriors and their Families

Ray Elliott

Ray Elliott is past president of the James Jones Literary Society, having served three terms in that capacity, and co-organizer and panelist for the society's annual symposia. Ray is also on the Board of the Illinois Center for the Book and has been featured as a notable Illinois author at the Illinois Authors Book Fair, among other literary events.

A Literary and Personal View of the Impact of War on the Warriors and their Families

This talk focuses on the immediate and lingering effects of war on those who fight them and on the loved ones left behind, based on extensive interviews and research with WWII veterans, and captures the emotional hold that impacts the combat veterans throughout their lives. Numerous anecdotes and a PowerPoint presentation from the 60th anniversary trip to Iwo Jima are included. Speaker Ray Elliott draws upon research conducted for his two recent works of historic fiction -- one from a child's point of view whose father is killed on Guadalcanal (Wild Hands Toward the Sky) and one from an Iwo Jima survivor's looking back on his life (Iwo Blasted Again) as he lies dying.

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