From the desk of Amber D. Inthavong, Author of   What We Brought Across the River: Memoir of a Lao American My name is Amber Inthavong, I am a Lao American writer and the daughter of refugees from Laos. My work explores intergenerational memory, silence, and the lasting impact of the American Secret War on diaspora communities from Laos. Through my writing, I seek to preserve personal and collective histories that have often been left out of dominant narratives.  I grew up knowing that...

From the desk of Legacies of War’s CEO “KOUL-mander in Chief”, Sera Koulabdara My uncle, a proud subscriber of   Legacies’ blog , reading an article written by my brother Mickey.  “Do you know why we call it szoon?” My uncle asked without looking at me. He stood beside the hospital window, eyes fixed on something far beyond the parking lot below. The trees were moving in the wind. Birds landed and lifted again. He did not see them. He was somewhere else. Before I could answer, he spoke. “It’s...

From the desk of Richard A. Berliner, IVS volunteer in Viet Nam from 1966 to 1968, author of A Different Journey: Vietnam 1965-1973 International Voluntary Services  (IVS) was founded February 16, 1953 Hill overlooking An Khe, Richard A. Berliner In the fall of 2022 former volunteers with the International Voluntary Services (IVS) came together in Birmingham, Alabama, with at least two things on their minds. One was to reminisce about the time they served together some fifty plus years ago...