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Grief Dialogues: "In Honor"
I had the tremendous experience of working with the grief dialogs for their inaugural presentation out in Los Angeles. While I was not able to attend the event, the footage that I did see reminded me of what I have read about ancient warrior tribes and how they would integrate their fighters back into society.

Ben Fortier
Oct 202 min read
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Thunder in the City of Sunnis
But in Iraq, there was no plywood on the picture window. I slept through the early part of the storm, dreaming about a call to prayer sucking me into the basement of a mosque. Do mosques even have basements? Or would I be disappointed to learn that they do not, like the Alamo.

Ben Fortier
Sep 203 min read
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Book Review: Killers In Their Youth by Nick Efstathiou
This novel is fantastic. It is an easy read, able to be put down within a day. As DRC’s flagship young-adult novel, Killers In Their Youth is a deep inspection of what veterans bring home from war.

Ben Fortier
Aug 293 min read
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Book Review: Once We Pledged Forever
A review of The debut full-length novel from Marine Corps veteran Ivan Ingraham, navigates the challenging journey of a Marine Corps officer to become an elite member of the Marine Corps Special Operations.

Ben Fortier
Aug 62 min read
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In Memory of Corporal Paul Nick King
I didn’t have the privilege of serving with Nick during the Iraq deployment. Instead, my connection to him started months prior during the Battalion's pre-deployment training. I was a new-join to the 81mm Mortar Platoon, a young PFC fresh out of infantry school. Â
On the first official day of mobilization, I had spent a sleepless night in the hotel just outside of Devens. A light snow coated the area overnight. I was up well before the sun to hoof it to the front gate of Dev

Ben Fortier
Jun 252 min read
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A Monologue for A Day of Grief
Grief. It is a journey difficult to comprehend, and even more so to explain. What does it mean to grieve? For warriors on a battlefield,...

Ben Fortier
May 72 min read
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Exploring Oblivion Remastered: A Deep Dive into My First Fifteen Hours
Oblivion is a 19-year-old computer game. When it emerged, computer role-playing games were still very stuck in their isometric design. This was the dawn of a new phase of first and third person action RPGs. Its predecessor Morrowind set a top bar and too many, Oblivion surpassed that bar.Â

Ben Fortier
Apr 282 min read
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They Almost Got Me – A Cybersecurity Professional’s Brush with a Job Scam
Because I'm a cybersecurity professional recently targeted by fraudsters, I feel a responsibility to share my experience.

Ben Fortier
Feb 263 min read
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"Someone Will Remember Us" - A Play About War
I wish I could tell you to go see this play. Unfortunately, I’m writing this while they perform their last two shows of the year.

Ben Fortier
Feb 232 min read
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Visions of Hell - Flash Fiction (Horror)
Based on the writing prompt "Something ancient rises from an old pond." Horror flash fiction.

Ben Fortier
Aug 31, 20242 min read
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Where Do You Belong?
Our system looked like a perverse amalgamation of capitalism, socialism, and plutocracy. It was a hooded taskmaster

Ben Fortier
Aug 24, 20242 min read
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Flash Fiction in the Style of Sci-Fi
They operated like a hive mind. When the signal was launched, they swarmed out from the tunnels. Their hands came through the sewer grates.

Ben Fortier
Aug 3, 20243 min read
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Trials at Parris Island
Parris Island in July. The confidence course loomed around us with its ropes, walls, towers, and murky pools.

Ben Fortier
Jul 19, 20244 min read
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Afterthoughts: Book Launch
July 2nd was the book launch of Afterthoughts, a compilation of writings by veterans with ties to Rhode Island.

Ben Fortier
Jul 12, 20242 min read
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Flash Fiction Friday: Icky the Monster and the Terrifying Crucible
This one sort of got away from me. Not gonna lie. The prompt was easy enough, but I went in a weird direction. For some reason, my mind...

Ben Fortier
Jul 5, 20245 min read
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Arachnid Convergence in Maplewood Hollow: A Flash Fiction Story
Discover the eerie events in Maplewood Hollow as a mysterious Arachnid Convergence brings trillions of spiders to this quiet New England tow

Ben Fortier
Jun 21, 20244 min read
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Flash Fiction Friday - 16mm
A woman finds old 16mm film from her childhood and sees that she had a sister — what happened to her?

Ben Fortier
Jun 9, 20242 min read
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Summer 2024 Update!
Veterans for Peace Poetry Reading I was honored to be invited by the Veterans for Peace to read poetry for them at their rally point in...

Ben Fortier
Jun 9, 20242 min read
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Book Review: Double Knot is THE cutting edge war memoir
For the first time in years, I recently had the fantastic experience of being so engrossed by a novel that I could not turn away.

Ben Fortier
Apr 24, 20242 min read
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"Phantoms" Wins the Robert Gannon Award for Poetry
The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation has created a series of distinguished, nationally recognized awards that honor a variety of media, art,

Ben Fortier
Mar 17, 20242 min read
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