June and Charley Kempthorne
A week ago, I was honored to interview two World War II veterans about their experiences during the war as part of Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler’s Veterans History Project event in Chehalis.
I interviewed Ira Thomas “Tom” Cole and his wife, Juanita, of Centralia, and Herbert W. “Bill” Russell of Longview, both Navy veterans. It’s an honor and a privilege to record the stories of our military veterans and comforting to know that their stories remain safe in the Library of Congress archives.
Veterans and others interested in writing their life stories can attend a two-hour life story workshop Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Museum. It is taught by Charley Kempthorne and his wife, June, who moved from the Midwest to Olympia to live with their son. Charley, a pioneer in the memoir movement who started teaching workshops in 1976, is the author of “For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History” and “Narrative Journaling: 28 Days to Writing More or Less Happily for the Rest of Your Life.” The workshop is free to veterans; a $10 donation to the museum is suggested for others.
“I worked with several World War II vets who gained a greater appreciation of their service as a result of writing extensively about their time in that war,” said Kempthorne, who is writing a memoir of his time in the Navy. “A good many veterans I have encountered in my 40-plus years in this business did not wish to write about or talk about their time during the war. I had to respect that wish, but I wish they had written at least some — I think they would have felt relief and release as a result.”
One local veteran who found that release is Chuck Nesmith of Chehalis, who published “Memoirs of Vietnam: U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division Forward Observer,” in July 2012.
“Writing about my Vietnam War experiences was a freeing and balancing experience, one that helped me to regain a large portion of my emotional and social skills,” Nesmith said. “I highly encourage the process for anyone who has survived life-threatening events, but especially combat vets who went willingly into harm’s way for the good of our nation.”
His vivid memoir speaks of combat in 1969, surrounded by death and destruction, questioning the reasons behind it.
“The waiting was the worst part,” Nesmith wrote. “War is 90 percent tedium and 10 percent terror.”
During one firefight, enemy machine gun fire killed and maimed his fellow soldiers, littering the jungle with “blood, fingers, pieces of flesh, bone and muscle fragments.”
“This had been a memorable day,” said Nesmith, who wrote the stories in his memoir as part of PTSD treatment in 1998. “But, it wasn’t one that I would want to tell my grandkids of. It was a day I wanted to forget — to act as if it never happened. It was a scar on my soul.”
It wasn’t all one-sided. Nesmith vividly recalled killing enemy soldiers, men who visited him in his nightmares decades later.
“I didn’t realize how much pain I was in until I began to get it out…” Nesmith wrote. “You cannot do harm to another human being, regardless of who they are, without it damaging your soul.”
Memories from military service also include stories of sacrifice, camaraderie, friendships and fellowship as young men and women bond in battle and service.
“Everyone can write stories,” Kempthorne insists, “and all you have to do is be willing to try.”
During the 10 a.m. to noon workshop, the Kempthornes will teach how to trigger memories, write scenes and dialogue, and employ storytelling techniques.
One of Kempthorne’s writing students, Jessie Foveaux, waited 20 years to publish her book, which attracted the attention of New York media and auctioned for $1 million when she was 97.
“Not everyone will get a million dollars from a big publishing house for their memoir,” Kempthorne readily acknowledges, “but what they write will be worth much more — priceless really—to their family and friends. And it’ll be a valuable contribution to human history as well.”
Register at the museum, 360-740-8875, or by email at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
