Worn & Wound
To Carry and To Keep: The Tudor Watches of Warriors
“In times of war or uncertainty there is a special breed of warrior ready to answer our nation’s call. A common man with uncommon desire to succeed… I am that man.” –U.S. Navy SEAL Code A Note Writing about the military – especially those who served our nation in the U.S. Armed Forces – is something I consider to be an honor, and it’s a responsibility I take seriously. The risk of sensationalizing or exploiting veteran experiences for media or corporate gain is too great and happens too frequently to leave that acknowledgement unstated. My respect for and personal relationships with the military population sometimes leads me to be overly cautious in my approach to these subjects to protect the privacy of the individuals or the institutions with which they are affiliated. Some experiences are off the record, and that is okay. The spirit of the story remains. I also want to acknowledge that discussions of military history can be divisive. I am a U.S. military historian by training and that shapes how I think and write. But my perspective is just a small percentage of the many globally nuanced lenses that can be applied to this topic. The watch world is international, diverse, and certainly strong enough to withstand the contributions of many – even if our conclusions differ. I am a civilian. After leaving school, I had the good fortune to work as a liaison to the U.S. Office of Veterans Affairs. Because of my educational background, I knew the facts and...