Grandchildren of Vets Share the Things They Carry
Tim Parker at the gathering. Photo Alex Arbuckle.
On Sunday, December 7, at a holiday gathering in NYC, descendants of veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, ALBA board members, and supporters gathered under the theme, “The Things We Carry.” Brought together by familial ties and mission, descendants of ALB vets reflected on the artifacts and memories they carry on behalf of their parents, grandparents, and now great-grandparents who served in Spain.
Keynote speaker Shannon O’Neill, curator of the Tamiment-Wagner Collections at NYU (which hosts the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives) encouraged us to reflect on the emotional and physical effect of quotidian objects like passports, identification cards, and water flasks, imagining how their carriers might have felt as they used them. Audience members shared their own artifacts and memories. Jeremy Jorgensen, grandson of ALB vet Aris Georgiou, and Kendra Heisler, granddaughter of ALB vet Robert George Thompson, contributed to a conversation on what it means to be stewards of memories and objects. Max Bennett-Parker, grandson of ALB vet Max Parker, and Sue and Shantha Susman, descendants of ALB vet Bill Susman, led participants in song, carrying forward the inspiration of antifascist music.
Photos: Alex Arbuckle
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- Shantha Susman, Sue Susman, and Max Parker. Photo Alex Arbuckle.
