Veteran finds healing with a harmonica

Unlike his father and brothers, Vietnam Veteran David Jones was never drawn to the harmonica or to music. So when Jones’s father passed away and his mother found his father’s harmonica in a hope chest and gave it to Jones, he didn’t know what to feel.

“It was his,” Jones’ mother said to him softly.

Not knowing what to do with it, he tucked it away. But the instrument stayed in the back of his mind.

Revisiting the gift

Years passed until, one day, Jones took the harmonica back out. Its cold metal was a strange comfort in his hand. He fumbled with it, blowing hesitant puffs of air, producing more wheezes than music.

He started “messing around,” as he called it, studying online tutorials and ordering books. He slowly, painstakingly began coaxing melodies from the instrument. He became a collector, accumulating a small arsenal of harmonicas, each with its own voice. He taught himself to play, note by note.

Finding something to do

Then in 2003, Jones’s eyesight began to fail—first in his right eye, then the left. His world became blurry and distorted.

The darkness threatened to consume him.

“For a person that’s visually impaired or blind, one thing that we have the most problem with is finding something to do,” he shared.

Jones connected with the Blind Veterans Association, where he started sharing stories and experiences and discovered a camaraderie that eased the burden of his vision loss.

The Association began incorporating arts and crafts into its programs, and that’s when Jones realized a new purpose. He turned to the harmonica.

Jones started teaching harmonica lessons at VA’s Blind Rehabilitation Center in Birmingham, Alabama. He found joy in guiding his students’ fingers, listening to their tentative notes evolve into recognizable tunes. Like him, they were finding a way to express themselves when words failed.

VA’s Creative Arts Festival

Then VA’s National Veterans Creative Arts Festival caught Jones’ attention.

VA medical facilities use creative arts to help Veterans with their rehabilitation goals. The annual competition recognizes the progress and recovery made through therapy and showcases Veterans’ work in creative writing, dance, drama and music.

“I heard about this art festival, and I said, ‘Well, I’d like to try…’” Jones said with a smile.

He poured his heart into his performance, stringing together a medley of songs. He played in memory of his father, whose melodies still played in his head. He played for his brothers, with whom he now shares a musical bond he didn’t have growing up. He played for fellow Veterans, who also struggle.

But most of all, he played for himself, using music to tell his story of loss, but also of connection.

To learn more, visit National Veterans Creative Arts Festival.

This article was originally published on VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System site and has been edited for style and clarity.