When the curtains rise on With No Name on the Marquee, they’ll reveal a man stepping back into his past (and that of many of his fellow Vietnam Veterans) and the ways in which he grapples with the experiences in the war and the return to civilian life after his tour.

*Photo of Karl during his time in the Army*

Karl R. Rohde is a Vietnam combat veteran, Silver Star recipient, and dedicated advocate for Veterans. A highly decorated U.S. Army veteran, Karl has devoted his life to service — both in uniform and for his community.

He currently serves as the Director of the Putnam County Veterans Service Agency and is a respected leader in numerous veterans’ organizations, including the VFW and American Legion.

Karl joined the Army in December 1968. After Basic Training and Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) at Fort Jackson, SC, he arrived in Vietnam in July 1969. Karl was assigned to the 196th Light Infantry Brigade of the Americal Division. After 2 months in the field, he was assigned to the 523rd Signal Battalion of the Americal Division.

Karl was awarded the Silver Star during combat in Vietnam (and has received numerous other awards).

At age 41, Karl wrote about his experience “in theatre” looking back at his time in Vietnam as a 21-year-old, resulting in his one-man, one-act play: With No Name on the Marquee, which he first performed in 2023 on the 50th anniversary of the last US combat troops departing Vietnam on March 29, 1973.

Rohde says, “When I got out of the service, writing was my therapy. That’s how I dealt with things, I didn’t necessarily talk to anybody — Vietnam Veterans, we didn’t talk to anybody, we hid that we were veterans for a lot of years. So, that was very cathartic for me.”

After Karl wrote the play, he expected to keep it to himself, saying that it spent the better part of 40 years collecting dust in a closet in his New York Home.

It wasn’t until he unveiled the story at a writing workshop with Dwyer Vet2Vet, now a part of Guardian Revival’s Peer Services Division that he was encouraged to read the play in front of an audience.

After polishing the play and reading it to an audience on stage at his VFW post with no props, Karl ran into fellow guardian Brian Freeman, who approached him full of excitement with an idea for how to elevate his already powerful story.

“Brian was so excited about the play, and he asked me about putting '60s music in it.”

When Karl met with Brian and other musicians from the Encore Program, they initially thought about simply playing some recorded music at the beginning and end of the show, but as they discussed the different songs they could use, Brian came up with an idea — using the Encore band to play music live to help elevate the tone of the story as it was performed.

With Karl’s powerful storytelling and the support of musicians from the Encore program, With No Name on the Marquee was transformed from a script that was never intended to be seen by an audience into a theatrical experience that will take guardians and civilians alike on a cathartic journey through the experiences of Veteran Vietnam.

Who Will Connect With This One-Act Play?

The play focuses on a character called Veteran Vietnam. It delves into his experiences during the Vietnam War as well as the deep emotions he grapples with upon reentering the civilian world.

Through this personal and powerful narrative, Rohde shines a light on the struggles many Vietnam veterans faced — struggles that often went unspoken for decades.

Rohde has said that he hopes that the play will make it easier for other veterans to open up about their experiences and process their experiences but also says that With No Name on the Marquee isn’t just for veterans or active duty service members, it’s for anyone who has experienced any kind of trauma.

“I just wanted to be a catalyst for people to start talking about their experiences, and not necessarily military experiences. You may have a traumatic experience that happened to you in life that has nothing to do with the military, but hey, if this veteran can talk so freely about his experiences, maybe I can Too.”

One of the most striking aspects of With No Name on the Marquee is its raw, unfiltered portrayal of a soldier’s reality. Rohde doesn’t romanticize the war or the veteran experience.

Instead, he presents an honest and emotional account of what it means to serve, return home, and try to make sense of a world that has moved on without you.

Rohde’s once-private form of therapy has become a shared experience, opening up conversations that were, for too long, left in the dark.

If you’re in the Beacon, NY area, you can catch With No Name on the Marquee at the Beacon Veterans Memorial Building on Friday, March 28 at 6 PM ET & Sunday, March 30 @ 2 PM ET

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About Encore

Encore provides veterans & first responders in Upstate New York with (free) opportunities to learn, write, play, record, and share music with their peers and the rest of the world.

JAMS: Regular sessions of casual community-based music experiences hosted by a trained Lead Musician. Guardians of any skill level are welcome to join — using their own instrument or one of ours. Come jam with us in Beacon NY, Mahopac NY, Manhattan NYC, and Billings MT.
LESSONS: We offer beginner to advanced guitar, ukulele, bass, and piano lessons via zoom. Lessons will start at your level & go at your pace, based on your individual goals and objectives with music. You can also learn basic music theory, if interested.
RETREATS: Led by a music therapist, these 3-day retreats offer guardians the opportunity to immerse in music together, providing a chance to reset through music & community.
TRACKS: A unique experience where we facilitate professional songwriting, recording, and releasing of a guardian’s original music. This opportunity to share their story helps them process emotions as well as offer a potential professional path forward with music.
- Through our Tracks experience, we work with a guardian on professional songwriting, recording, and releasing their original music on our label, Guardian Revival Records (available on all streaming platforms).

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Apr 22