It’s been more than two decades since the United States invaded Iraq to overthrow the government of dictator Saddam Hussein. It was also part of a broader campaign: The war on terrorism.
Recently some Rhode Island veterans, still feeling the impact of their experiences, took their war stories to the stage—sharing them in an original play produced at Trinity Repertory Theater. It’s titled, “Someone Will Remember Us.”
Ty Smith spent sixteen months in Iraq as an Army Calvary Scout. He is one of the local soldiers whose real-life drama is woven into the Trinity production. He says every moment in Iraq was intense.
“Somebody not coming home, who you saw yesterday, seeing dead bodies, seeing dead children, and just kind of that day in day out grind that kind of goes on in your mind, in your body, physically,” said Smith.
Smith is now Director of Veteran Services at “Operation Stand Down Rhode Island”, a non-profit organization assisting vets with food, housing and other support.
Trinity actor Derecks Thomas portrays Smith and says it was a challenge to play a living person as opposed to the usual fictional characters he portrays.
“The challenge is trying to wrestle with the text and find the humanity in it and deliver it authentically,” said Thomas. There’s an element that you have to get to the truth.” said Thomas.
Smith said it was a long time before he could speak about his experiences in the war. Yet, he says many veterans do want to talk about what happened.
“If you listen, they’ll tell their stories. If you give them time to explain, they will tell you.”
Smith, other veterans and some refugees resettled in Rhode Island talked about their experiences for hours with Barrington playwright Deborah Salem Smith. She had previously written “Boots on the Ground” for Trinity early on during the war in Iraq.
Smith says she decided to write this second play because it had been on her mind for years.
“It’s a small state, so I would sometimes still run into people I interviewed for the first ‘Boots on the Ground,’ and the war had continued to really impact people. There was just a lot of unexpected hope and perseverance and thoughtfulness.” Smith said.
“The surprising thing about this is we could do this project again in 10 years, and we’d still be seeing the ripple effect. I think how it changed; people are still moving. People are still trying to rebuild their lives.” Smith added.
Meanwhile, Ty Smith said he hopes that by sharing his story, the play will open up conversations between veterans and the community.
“I think sometimes we are quick to go, Happy Veterans Day, Happy Memorial Day, thank you for your service. But we don’t really push past that conversation,” said Smith.
“When we do, we find better ways to work together. “Because if you’re not heard and seen, you’re forgotten.”
