Name: Konrad Morgan Lehmann

Social Justice Group: Veterans/Life After War

Date of Fieldwork: November 15, 2017

Name of Organization: VA NY Harbor Health Care System

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Anthony Stamatorous, Chris, Charlie, and _____

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did:

We visited VA NY Harbor Health Care System and met up with Anthony Stamatorous and he guided us to some veterans who we could interview with the questions that we had written beforehand.

What I learned:

We learned much about our topic but one thing that really stood out to me was the answer to one of my questions. I asked, “why did you join the army in the first place? Patriotism?” But something that I hadn’t considered was what he answered. He said, “I joined because of the free health care and the payment, at the time it was a great chance.” One of the other veterans, Charlie, was drafted into the Vietnam war and had no choice.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that there was little justice and respect for the veterans. When we talked to them they stressed the fact that after all they went through, one of the worst parts was that no one respected them.