Author Patricia McCormick talks about Purple Heart

Summary

The speaker shares how a peace march involving veterans from the Iraq and Vietnam wars inspired their book. The march featured military boots representing fallen soldiers and a pile of civilian shoes symbolizing civilian war deaths. A pair of children's sneakers stirred the author to imagine a scene of a child being shot, sparking the story. The book centers on three young characters caught in the confusion of war, focusing on the accidental killing of civilians. It explores the moral complexity of war, encouraging readers to form their own judgments about its toll on human lives.

Takeaways

• 📚 The book was inspired by a peace march the speaker attended about three years ago, which included veterans from the Iraq and Vietnam wars.
• 👢 The march included an exhibit with boots representing each soldier who died in the war, showing the human cost of war.
• 🥿 There was also a pile of civilian shoes, symbolizing the civilian deaths during the war, which deeply moved the speaker.
• 👶 Seeing a pair of little sneakers inspired the speaker to imagine and write a story about a child affected by war.
• 👦 The three main characters of the story are Matt, Justin, and Ali, all children, with the soldiers being just 18 years old and the boy 10.
• ⚔️ The speaker hopes readers will gain a sense of the intense confusion and chaos that soldiers experience in battle.
• 🤔 The speaker emphasizes that there is no clear guilt or innocence in war, as people are doing the best they can in extreme situations.
• 🎖️ The speaker's husband is a Vietnam veteran, which gave her some understanding of the soldier's experience.
• 💭 Although personally opposed to the war, the speaker wanted to allow readers to make their own judgments about a specific incident involving accidental civilian deaths.
• 🏳️ The book explores the complexities of war, particularly the difficulty of avoiding civilian casualties when insurgents hide among civilians, making it a key issue in modern warfare.

Q & A

What inspired the book mentioned in the script?

The inspiration came from a peace march that took place around three years ago, which included veterans from the Iraq and Vietnam wars protesting the ongoing war.

What symbolic objects were used during the peace march?

The veterans brought boots to represent each soldier who had died in the war, with name tags on each, and a pile of civilian shoes, including sneakers and other footwear, to symbolize civilian deaths.

What was the author's emotional response to seeing the civilian shoes?

The author was transported emotionally upon seeing a pair of small sneakers, which inspired a scene where a child was shot, prompting the desire to write the story.

Who are the three main characters in the book?

The three main characters are Matt, Justin, and Ali, who are all children. Two of them are 18-year-old soldiers, and one is a 10-year-old boy.

What does the author hope readers will understand about soldiers after reading the book?

The author hopes readers will understand the confusion and chaos soldiers experience in battle and that there is no clear guilt or innocence in war.

What personal connection does the author have to the military experience?

The author's husband was a Vietnam veteran, giving the author some insight into what it is like to be a soldier.

What is the central incident the book explores?

The book focuses on an accidental killing of civilians, which the author describes as a signature incident of the war.

Why does the author consider the accidental killing of civilians to be a perplexing issue in the war?

It is perplexing because insurgents often hide among civilians, forcing troops into situations where civilian casualties occur even if they do not intend to cause them.

What perspective does the author offer about the war in the book?

Although personally opposed to the war, the author wanted to give readers the opportunity to form their own judgments about the complexities of war by telling a story about the people involved, rather than focusing on the politics.

What is the ultimate goal the author had in writing this book?

The author’s goal was to look at one incident in the war, break it down, and turn it into a personal story about three individuals that readers would come to care about, rather than reducing it to just an issue.