My honey is a veteran. I have noticed each year he seems to get more solemn, more than before. Not all the time mind you, just on days like Veterans Day, Memorial Day and 9/11.
This year he spent the morning of Nov 11 in his office at home, playing this Jimi Hendrix song pretty much over and over. I went in to check on him, and he was looking at a picture of him and the guys in "the war". He is standing there in the picture, while his guys are sitting on the ramps of two personnel carriers (which look like tanks to me) . I asked him whats that music, and he points at another picture of him and a guy with a radio on his back behind a wall and a broken down car with holes all over it, and says "Roger here, he used to play that song all the damn time in the field, on his cassette player."
When our son-in-law ever asks, honey says he didn't do anything, yet I know thats not true. Surely all those ribbons and medals he keeps in a draw mean something. My brother, who is slightly older than honey, looked at son-in-law and said about honey "He was in the shit, and doesnt want to talk about it...let it be" Honey and my brother, also a vet, have talked about it, so I guess they shared something.
I know it had to be rough on him. He has my respect. As you know my eldest son has done three tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq. As far as I can tell...it still bothers him and he will always carry it with him...but he seems to be handling it well...so far...with support from his loving wife and family.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin survived being in the world trade center on 9/11, volunteered to return to active duty, went to Afgahnistan, then Iraq. In Iraq he helped rebuild a couple of schools and supply them with stuff for the kids. Then he came back, only to be sent back to iraq again- this time he found out the schools were blown up by insurgents...so now he is home again, doing troop training at Fort Irwin. He recently got promoted, but nobody hears from him too much and his wife lives in Northern California, while he's in Southern California. My mom confirmed he has "had time off" to seek some help, ie I thnk the Army hospitalized him for PTSD.
ReplyDeleteMy honey says he probably is like another relative that flipped out when he came home from his 3rd tour in Nam back in the early 70's. I pray for all our sons and daughters to come home safe, and whole in body and soul.