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For The Love Of Jack, His War/My Battle. Free PTSD Book
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The Vietnam War is more than past history. It is still being fought in the minds of those who battle PTSD every day of their lives.
There are those with wounds you can see with your eyes, but the wounds of the mind you need to see with your heart. As with all wounds, PTSD cannot heal untreated. The help is there waiting. The hope is that all who need it will seek it.
For the new generation of warriors returing from Afghanistan and Iraq, they are also dealing with the results of PTSD. We as part of the human race must come to terms with PTSD and remove the stigma attached to having a wounded mind. They need compassion, not denial. They need understanding, not judgment. They need support to seek help, not the words of fools who would rather stand in their way instead of showing them the way.
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It is the families of those who are remembered on the black wall in Washington called simply enough, "The Wall" yet forgotten by the world except for the number of the total names inscribed. It is also those who died because of Vietnam by their own hands years later unable to cope with the ghosts that haunted them. It is those who died due to Agent Orange because they drank water contaminated by it and in the area of the spraying.
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Vietnam is fought by those who made the choice to help the Veterans. From World War II up to Iraq, thousands of people have let our veterans know they are not forgotten. From the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans in Boston MA to every state in this nation, they dedicate their lives to make the lives of our veterans better. Those who work for the Veterans Administration in the hospitals and clinics do not forget the price paid and try to honor it by caring for them.
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Now there will be more veterans seeking help and more families changed because of war. Have we learned enough to be ready to help them? Has the public learned the lessons of Vietnam? Can we now state our point of view toward the war without attacking those who serve? Is it finally possible for us, as Americans, to be able to say those who serve are honorable even if we think the war may be wrong? We must find a way to use our freedom to speak without attacking those who protect our right to say it.
We must also never confuse supporting the troops with simple words and not action. What happens to them when they come home and are warriors no more, should matter just as much as when they were serving this nation. We must care why they are sent to risk their lives if we really do support them. We must hold those who send them accountable to them during the time they serve and after.
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