International Conference of War Veteran Ministers

A Resource for Veterans

We who have prepared this web site are war veterans. We were founded by veterans of the Vietnam war, but increasingly we include veterans of many wars. Today we want especially to reach out to veterans of service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There is one powerful commitment we remember from our days in uniform: We don't leave our wounded behind. Those of us who are veterans of the Vietnam war made this commitment during our days in Vietnam, and it continues to be important today when wars in the Middle East are producing new war veterans every day.

Many war veterans -- and their families -- have experienced a spiritual wound left by that conflict. To the extent that our resources permit, we want to help. Our site describes the following programs which have veterans and their families directly or indirectly in mind:

In 1997 we provided our first Spiritual Healing Workshop for combat veterans with PTSD and their wives or significant others. Each year since then we've conducted two or three of these workshops. Many of those who attend one year want to come back the next.

We have reached out to veterans of other conflicts., and our minister members now include veterans of conflicts other than Vietnam.

Contact a Veteran Minister. Our members are pastors of churches, chaplains at hospitals, counselors at Vet Centers. Call us, write us, see us when you need to.

Sign the Warrior's Pledge and commit your energies for a better tomorrow for veterans.

In 2000 we were offered a grant to begin work on a Congregational Clergy Trauma curriculum intended to share an understanding of trauma with pastors of congregations so that they might become more welcoming and supportive of trauma survivors including Vietnam veterans. Six years later, this curriculum project, conducted in collaboration with the Sidran Institute in Towson, Maryland, resulted in the publication of Risking Connection in Faith Communities: A Training Curriculum for Faith Leaders supporting Trauma Survivors. Copies may be obtained from Sidran or booksellers such as Amazon.com.

We prepared a Ritual Book for Chapters and leaders of Vietnam Veterans of America. The Memorial Service from this book is available to all on the web.

We know that many of you have PTSD. We maintain a page of PTSD Links which we hope will be of use to you.

In addition, our members have been collecting Other Links which may be of interest to veterans

©1999-2008 International Conference of War Veteran Ministers, founded in 1990 as the National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers. All Rights Reserved. The International Conference of War Veteran Ministers and National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers are registered trademarks. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ICWVM is funded by membership dues, donations, and major grants from organizations believing in our work. Contact information for officers and webmaster on separate page. This page last updated August 11, 2009.