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WORDS OF WISDOM The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Military Family Clinic proudly salutes our Nation’s Heroes You made the commitment to serve our country. We stand committed to serving you. The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Military Family Clinic offers free and confidential mental health care for veterans and their families. 855.698.4677 [email protected] nyulangone.org/militaryfamilyclinic 50 FORWARD MARCH AMERICA’S PARADE “There’s a growing presence of veterans in the arts which is, I think, really healthy for our society. We’re all citizens in a country that regularly uses military force, and yet the military feels very foreign to many Americans, understood only in an abstract way. So when writers like Matt Gallagher, Elliott Ackerman or Siobhan Fal- lon open that world up to other readers, they’re not only providing tools for veterans to think about their service in other ways, but they’re offering an entry-point for civilians who want to engage on and intellectual and emotional level with what we’re doing overseas but aren’t always sure how.” Phil Klay, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, 2014 National Book Award Winner for his short story colletion, Redeployment AUTHOR PROFILE: MICHAEL KLEPFER Michael “Klep” Klepfer, a Marine Corps veteran, is the author of “Take Cover” a poetry collection. He blogs at www.klepferscorner.blogspot.com and is currently writing a novel. Why did you start writing? My love for writing was fueled by my love for reading. The more I read the more I wanted to write. It grew larger and more profound until I had no other choice but to start writing. How do you feel about the dialogue between veterans and civilians? I haven’t seen much feedback about being a veteran. This is probably for two reasons, the fact that I still have a very small audience at the moment and I also don’t advertise that I am veteran. I want people to get to know me for who I am: I am Michael Klepfer. I am a writer and I want my writing to speak for itself. I think a lot of veterans feel that way. I was 25 when