New book amplifies voices of incarcerated veterans
In his new book "Prisoners After War: Veterans in the Age of Mass Incarceration," historian Jason Higgins uncovers the untold stories of veterans, men and women, who were punished for mental health disorders and incarcerated after serving in America's wars from Vietnam to present day.
Higgins, humanities digital scholarship coordinator for Virginia Tech Publishing housed in University Libraries at Virginia Tech, has always been more interested in studying history from the bottom up.
“Oral histories make history personal and more human,” said Higgins. “I began recording oral histories with World War II veterans as an undergraduate. Then I completed an oral history project with Vietnam veterans. Since then, I’ve spent my life studying the lasting effects of war, trauma, and veterans’ experiences.”
Tracing roots of injustice
Through extensive research and oral histories, Higgins traces the roots of this injustice back to the Vietnam era, when Nixon's "war on drugs" unfairly targeted soldiers struggling with substance abuse, such as marijuana and heroin, to cope with the horrors and traumas of war. Thousands of veterans, disproportionately Black, were discharged without benefits and resources, fueling a cycle of discrimination, mental illness, and mass incarceration that continues today.
“As a public historian, I hope to raise public awareness of the experiences of veterans who went to prison after war,” said Higgins. “My book explores the radiating effects of mental health, disabilities, and wounds of war on these lives and uncovers a history of discriminatory policies in the military, Veterans Administration, and criminal justice system.
A wake-up call
Higgins said studying Black history forever changed his worldview.
“After learning about the violent experiences of Black veterans throughout U.S. history — from lynching to incarceration — I was both enraged that I never learned about this in school and equally impassioned to teach others,” said Higgins.
He has spent the last 10 years filling in the missing gaps of historical knowledge. “This project became more than a dissertation topic to me,” said Higgins. “I have become an advocate for justice through scholarship, teaching, and service.”
The central question of Higgins’s book asks what the relationship is between trauma, discrimination, and incarceration. To answer this question, Higgins launched the Incarcerated Veterans Oral History Project while earning his Ph.D. in history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research revealed that during the Vietnam War, African American veterans were unfairly punished with “less than honorable” discharges, denied disability benefits, and were disproportionately incarcerated after the war. By 1978, 1 out of 4 Americans in prison were military veterans and nearly half of them were Black veterans with less than honorable discharges.
“Unfortunately discrimination did not end after the Vietnam War,” said Higgins. “It took new forms. Oral history interviews with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans uncovered striking parallels.”
The next generation of veterans experienced a mental health crisis produced by the conditions of fighting the global war on terrorism. Multiple deployments increased the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, and moral injury. Military doctors and the Department of Veterans Affairs also overprescribed opioids. Hundreds of thousands of veterans developed substance-use disorders. Although the military initiated mental health reforms during the war on terror, many service members continued to be punished for mental health and behavioral problems, including members with service-connected injuries and women who experienced sexual assault. They were kicked out without veterans’ benefits.
Resilience against the odds
Yet among the accounts, inspiring stories of resilience emerge - such as that of David Carlson, an Iraq War vet who broke the cycle of intergenerational trauma and incarceration in his family by becoming a law student, activist, and youth mentor after serving two combat tours and spending over four years in prison. Higgins documents how many formerly incarcerated vets have transformed their lives to become community leaders effecting social change.
A grassroots movement for justice
The book also chronicles the proliferation since 2008 of nearly 600 Veterans Treatment Courts across the U.S. — a grassroots movement pioneered by Vietnam vets advocating for alternatives to incarceration. These innovative courts are hybrid mental health and drug treatment courts, specializing in veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, and substance use disorders. They promote alternatives to incarceration and connect veterans to resources such as health care, housing aid, disability benefits, counseling services, and job training, drastically reducing recidivism.
“As Virginia Tech seeks to make education more affordable and aspires for Global Distinction, our research, teaching, and service have enormous potential for positive social change,” said Higgins. “With generous support from Virginia Tech TOME [Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem Grant], "Prisoners After War" can be read online or downloaded for free. More than anything, I want this research to reach people living in the margins of society.”
Higgins said this work would not be possible without the support of many people at Virginia Tech and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, none more influential than Christian G. Appy, a mentor and historian of the Vietnam War. “My former supervisor Peter Potter provided invaluable insight into open-access scholarly publishing while I was revising my dissertation into a book,” said Higgins. “Virginia Tech Publishing also hosts the Journal of Veterans Studies, which produces cutting edge, open-access scholarship in the field of Veterans studies.”
Higgins's work intersects with several past and ongoing University Libraries initiatives including the Center for Oral History, the Veterans in Society initiative, the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for Higher Education Faculty on Veterans Studies, and the Journal of Veterans Studies. “When I joined Virginia Tech as a postdoctoral fellow, I stood on the shoulders of many,” said Higgins.
Expanding access to veteran stories
Last year, Higgins proposed a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for K-12 teachers called Crossing Divides to train educators in facilitating student oral history projects in their communities. With a 4-VA grant, he also partnered with William & Mary's Andre Taylor, oral historian and Ph.D. candidate, to record oral histories from diverse veteran groups like African Americans, women, LGBTQ, antiwar, and disabled vets. Selected interviews are on Higgins's YouTube channel, with collections being archived at the W.E.B Du Bois Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He's now developing a new model for disseminating oral histories digitally through Virginia Tech Publishing.
“Interviewing veterans as an undergraduate changed my life, and now I introduce students to the transformative power of oral history,” said Higgins. In his Vietnam War class, for example, students have recorded nearly 40 new oral histories and many are archived with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. Currently, in partnership with the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, Higgins is supervising cadets who are interviewing Virginia Tech alumni who served in the Vietnam War.
“In this community, I have discovered an authentic devotion to service,” said Higgins. “I am honored to join the storied tradition of Ut Prosim by recording the untold stories of those who served.”
A rallying cry
With "Prisoners After War," Higgins issues a call to grapple with the hard truths about how our systems have failed veterans.
“Incarcerated veterans live in the shadows of society,” said Higgins. “However, their place in our national story is significant. Veterans are often venerated as heroes, symbols of strength, and the embodiment of patriotism. But veterans are not statues. They are humans with all the strengths and limitations of our condition.
"It is my hope that these stories teach us that formerly incarcerated people can transform their lives, families, and communities," said Higgins. "But first, we must recognize their humanity, the dignity of all who have served, and provide access to resources, opportunities, and genuine second chances."
