By Tabitha Johnston, The Shepherdstown Chronicle
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — This Veteran’s Day, an art show and one-man play will be held in Shepherdstown, with the purpose of “Honoring Our Veterans.”
The Honoring Our Veterans event is being organized by Shepherdstown Community Club President Carrie Blessing and U.S. Air Force veteran Jason Whitaker.
At 5:30 p.m., Whitaker and other local veterans will be putting their visual artwork on display on the first floor of the War Memorial Building. The art show will be paired with an artist reception and followed, at 8 p.m., by a free performance on the second floor of the building by Whitaker, who will be presenting an adaptation of the play, “Every Brilliant Thing,” by Duncan Mac Millan and Jonny Donahoe.
“We’re celebrating veterans that do art!” Whitaker said, mentioning the improvisational play addresses themes relevant to veterans and civilians alike. “I just want to celebrate that we are veterans and we can do these things.”
Whitaker served two tours in Iraq, retiring as a senior airman in 2010. But even after leaving the military, Whitaker’s experiences as a weapons technician in a war zone followed him, in the forms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.