Benjamin Fortier

Benjamin Fortier grew up in Northern Rhode Island. He enlisted the Marine Corps Reserve and within 10 days of high school graduation, he was standing on the yellow footprints at Parris island. He served as an infantry team member with 1st Battalion, 25th Marines in Fallujah, Iraq in 2006. His latest book, Phantoms, was awarded the 2024 Robert A. Gannon award for poetry dealing with Marine Corps life. He is currently serving as the vice president of the 1st Battalion, 25th Marines Association.

My First Time Writing A Stageplay

First, I’d like to thank Leilani for inviting me to this fantastic event. My understanding of the project was that a small group of veteran writers would gather under Leilani’s direction to write a ten-minute, one-act stageplay based on letters written by American service members since the Civil War. As a lover of military history and theater, I was highly intrigued. The indicator of serendipity was when I learned that the letters I would be working with were from a World War I ambulance driver who saw carnage in the Argonne Forest, one of the most brutal conflicts Americans faced in that war.