During World War II, Army Air Corps fighter pilot Lieutenant Herschel Ponder flew 51 missions over Europe. Forty-five years later he wrote about his experience. His daughter, Carol Ponder, and her husband, Robert Kiefer, both long-time entertainers, used her father?'s memoir to create Ponder Anew: A WWII Warrior'?s Story. Performances of Ponder Anew and their accompanying workshops are being used to help military personnel and combat veterans open up about their wartime experiences, and cope with PTSD and other mental or emotional problems they may face.
Joining us to discuss Ponder Anew and its role in helping members of the military, veterans, and their families, are Carol Ponder and Robert Kiefer; Sherry Walker, a social worker and therapist on the Alvin C. York campus of the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; and Laure Quinliven, a board member of Heroes Fund, which provides support locally to active duty military serving in a combat zone and veterans who served in combat zones.
Two free performances of Ponder Anew are being presented locally November 13 and 14 by the Heroes Fund. For information, click here.