My Brother’s War, Wartime memories make international impact

Wartime memories make international impact
Written by Quaniqua Epps
Wednesday, 15 June 2011 21:51
Resurrecting a painful past was a way for Georgia Southern University Art Professor Jessica Hines to use her photography to tell the intimate story of her brother and to educate GSU students and people all over the world.

The name of Hines’s exhibit and novel is appropriately titled “My Brother’s War.” The inspiration for “My Brother’s War” stems from Hines’s brother, Gary, being drafted into the U.S. military in the late 1960s to fight in the Vietnam War.

During the time her brother was serving in the military, Hines was sent to live with relatives, because her parents had become ill and could not care for her.

Two years after he began serving, her brother Gary was discharged from the military and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Ten years after his release from the military, Gary committed suicide.

“When my older brother, Gary died, I could not cope with the loss. It took years of putting his unexpected death out of my mind before I could finally come to grips with what happened,” said Hines.

In 2005, a friend, Vincent Kohler, who teaches political science at GSU, asked Hines if she would allow his students to read and study Gary’s letters as an educational way to learn about the war.

“I agreed and visited his class to speak about my experiences surrounding the loss,” said Hines, “It was at this time that I was inspired to revisit the past and uncover some of the mystery that surrounded my brother’s life and death. My curiosity grew as I began to make discoveries and thus, this project was born.”

The images found in her gallery contain objects, such as figurines, letters and photographs of Gary and they were taken in the U.S., as well as in Chu Lai, Vietnam where Gary was stationed during his tenure in the military.

Through the photographs, Hines is able to not only convey her emotion about the subject, but also able to get her audience to understand Gary’s story.

Although telling her brother’s story was somewhat therapeutic for Hines, there were moments during her journey when she became immersed in anguish.
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Wartime memories make international impact