Combat Paper Project

Stolen Youth by Drew Cameron & Drew Matott, 2009 Pulp printing on Combat Paper

On Aug. 20, My Morning Jacket will play the Midway Valley Lawn at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction, Vt.

Coming off stops at arenas in support of Tom Petty, it seemed a little strange that they would play what is essentially a county fair.

But it looks like they're doing it for a good cause; to raise awareness for the Combat Paper Project. I decided to do some research and find out what Combat Paper was all about. Turns out, it's a charity based in Burlington, Vt., that helps war veterans reconcile their past by turning their combat uniforms into paper, then into cathartic artwork.

They explain the process as follows:

The uniforms are cut up, beat and formed into sheets of paper. Veterans use the transformative process of papermaking to reclaim their uniform as art and begin to embrace their experiences as a soldier in war.

Pretty forward thinking idea I would say. I think many lives will be changed in the process.