Our younger generation of Veterans

[Skysoldier]

About a year ago, I became friends with a young Afghanistan Veteran.

He immediately reminded me of myself many years ago........ trying to adjust to civilian life.

I sensed his feelings of loneliness, and "not fitting in."

We immediately became close friends and I think of him like my own son.

He also takes my advice...."No shithead, you don't have PTSD....it's all the other people that are a55holes! Get over it!"

I have a lot of friends, but very few close friends. Depicts was my last close friend, and I sorely miss him. We were able to share things we
could never share with our wives or families.

I remember coming home and being treated like shit by the old guy's at the VFW. Hopefully, times have changed.

As older Veterans, we owe it to our younger generations to help them every way we can.

"Thanks for your Service" is not the phrase they need......."How are you doing?" is the phrase we really need to ask them.

 

[JFR2]

Amen, brother!

-JR

 

[Contramnky]

Kim, the father of a childhood friend of mine is a Vietnam Vet, and was instrumental in my reacclimating to civilian life. I called that guy four or five times a week for almost two years, sometimes crying, and he helped me through some very dark times. It is heartening to see so much support all around me to help me leave Iraq in Iraq. However, it breaks my heart to imagine young men coming home from war 40 years ago and being mistreated.

 

[Skysoldier]

Kim, the father of a childhood friend of mine is a Vietnam Vet, and was instrumental in my reacclimating to civilian life. I called that guy four or five times a week for almost two years, sometimes crying, and he helped me through some very dark times. It is heartening to see so much support all around me to help me leave Iraq in Iraq. However, it breaks my heart to imagine young men coming home from war 40 years ago and being mistreated.

That was the past....it is the future that matters.

 

[M60]

That was the past....it is the future that matters.

Good on you Sky. Way to Vet up.

 

[beach]

Kim. You are a class act.

Thanks.

 

[dustoff22]

Good on ya for mentoring the young lad Sky.

While I don't believe there is even a fraction of the hostile public we found in the 60's, there still remains a great divide between the civilian world and the military world and going from one to the other is often not done without great difficulty.

I remember coming home and being treated like shit by the old guy's at the VFW. Hopefully, times have changed.

Yup, a lot of them have closed down due to lack of membership. The Hyannis VFW is a good example. I was in there in the 70's and asked about membership. Two old WW2 guys suggested to me that Vietnam wasn't a war. I never went back.

 

[frenchman]

That was the past....it is the future that matters.

I don't have to tell you how it feels when the past stops by for a visit in the middle of the night. The bad dreams come less frequently with the years, but every time I think I'm done with them, they come back, for no obvious reason. Is it any different for you?

 

[goodzilla]

"Thanks for your Service" is not the phrase they need......."How are you doing?" is the phrase we really need to ask them.

Great advice, "thanks for your service" is a good sentiment, but always sort of rang sort of hollow, even felt awkward to me.

 

[smokey-seven]

Originally Posted by Skysoldier

That was the past....it is the future that matters.

Amen Kim. Any overt act of kindness I can do for today's vets makes me feel better for what happened to me in the early 70's.

frenchman said,

I don't have to tell you how it feels when the past stops by for a visit in the middle of the night. The bad dreams come less frequently with the years, but every time I think I'm done with them, they come back, for no obvious reason. Is it any different for you?

I buried my PTSD in 30 years of emergency services so I have plenty of new nightmares that overwrote the old ones. In both, they do come back at the strangest times and for the tiniest of reasons. I've never had a councilor but I do have a good supply of vets my age, many who are still in active therapy groups. Keep your friends close and never be ashamed at shedding a tear.

Skysoldier said,

"Thanks for your Service" is not the phrase they need......."How are you doing?" is the phrase we really need to ask them.

Oh yea! I see the occasional 1000 yard stare and the first thing out of my mouth is, "You ok?"

 

[M60]

Originally Posted by Skysoldier

Amen Kim. Any overt act of kindness I can do for today's vets makes me feel better for what happened to me in the early 70's.

frenchman said,

I buried my PTSD in 30 years of emergency services so I have plenty of new nightmares that overwrote the old ones. In both, they do come back at the strangest times and for the tiniest of reasons. I've never had a councilor but I do have a good supply of vets my age, many who are still in active therapy groups. Keep your friends close and never be ashamed at shedding a tear.

Skysoldier said,

Oh yea! I see the occasional 1000 yard stare and the first thing out of my mouth is, "You ok?"

The first 1000 yard stare that I ever saw was at L Z Stud in 1968. He was a kid that lived three doors from me back home. He had just come in from 30 days in the bushes. He died 2 years ago of agent orange related cancer. We lived 3 miles apart for the 43 years and never even had a drink together. It was always like old home week when we'd meet on the street, but we never got together. I miss the times when we met on the street.