40 years later,
his spirit is still recovering.
He emits an aura of strength and serenity
that belies the trauma
that has dogged him throughout his life.
He has suffered from alcohol and drug abuse
and post traumatic stress disorder,
He was not diagnosed with PTSD until
three decades of being in and out of prisons
for armed robbery, larceny and drug dealing
and stints of living on the streets.
PTSD treatment
enabled him to turn his life around.
It was the same government
he had hated for years that saved his life.
The voices of the past are softer now
but still not silent.
They're always clamoring ... to drown out feelings,
to make me remember experiences in Vietnam.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Never Again
It’s the veterans who are fighting the war,
it’s the veterans who are left to deal
with the consequences after the war,
it’s the veterans who are left without a voice.
He unrolls a banner displaying Americans
killed and wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He is a Vietnam war veteran.
Of all the people in attendance
to protest the war,
the veterans in the crowd,
had the most enlightened perspectives on the issue.
When the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started,
he couldn’t help but recall memories of Vietnam.
He saw the same thing happening.
He was glued to the TV
and wanted to do something to help.
Having dealt with his own PTSD
He didn’t want to see another generation
go through the same difficulties.
The best thing he could do for them
was to help get them out of harm’s way
and get America out of the war.
“I want to make people aware of the true cost of war.”
it’s the veterans who are left to deal
with the consequences after the war,
it’s the veterans who are left without a voice.
He unrolls a banner displaying Americans
killed and wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He is a Vietnam war veteran.
Of all the people in attendance
to protest the war,
the veterans in the crowd,
had the most enlightened perspectives on the issue.
When the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started,
he couldn’t help but recall memories of Vietnam.
He saw the same thing happening.
He was glued to the TV
and wanted to do something to help.
Having dealt with his own PTSD
He didn’t want to see another generation
go through the same difficulties.
The best thing he could do for them
was to help get them out of harm’s way
and get America out of the war.
“I want to make people aware of the true cost of war.”
Time Flies
Vietnam veterans
are becoming museum pieces.
They have been known
to hoist a few down
at the VFW Post.
Eventually the little group broke up.
This isn't the last reunion
for these old soldiers.
It has been 45 years since
They had such a delightful time
in the Mekong River Delta.
Vietnam guys used to be
such wild young fellows.
Time just flies
when you're getting old.
are becoming museum pieces.
They have been known
to hoist a few down
at the VFW Post.
Eventually the little group broke up.
This isn't the last reunion
for these old soldiers.
It has been 45 years since
They had such a delightful time
in the Mekong River Delta.
Vietnam guys used to be
such wild young fellows.
Time just flies
when you're getting old.
Born To Be Free
He rolls out his motorcycle,
starts the engine, and goes for a ride.
He hopped on his first motorcycle
after the Vietnam War,
and found peace and solace
He found he could get away
from civilization.
A completely different world
out there.
You’ll find
many Vietnam Veterans
on the road.
It’s an escape.
It’s freedom.
‘We went as strangers,
came home as brothers.’
A whole new generation of veterans
understand what it means
to seek escape
on a long highway.
starts the engine, and goes for a ride.
He hopped on his first motorcycle
after the Vietnam War,
and found peace and solace
He found he could get away
from civilization.
A completely different world
out there.
You’ll find
many Vietnam Veterans
on the road.
It’s an escape.
It’s freedom.
‘We went as strangers,
came home as brothers.’
A whole new generation of veterans
understand what it means
to seek escape
on a long highway.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Vietnam Veteran Lost
He’s 60 years old.
The skinny Vietnam vet
displays a Marine Corps tattoo
on his right forearm.
Once a tough guy.
He was 17 when he joined the service.
He should have been graduating
from high school.
He was killing people.
He saw things done no boy his age
should ever see.
He was never right
after he got back from Vietnam.
Wal-Mart let him go
He burned through his unemployment
and all of his savings.
Cancer ate that up.
He's broke.
He applied for help
from the VA.
It never got processed.
It was lost.
Nobody ever told him
how to get help.
When he got out of the VA hospital
they didn't say anything.
All they did was call him a cab.
The only benefit they promised him
was his burial benefit,"
A whole $300.
The skinny Vietnam vet
displays a Marine Corps tattoo
on his right forearm.
Once a tough guy.
He was 17 when he joined the service.
He should have been graduating
from high school.
He was killing people.
He saw things done no boy his age
should ever see.
He was never right
after he got back from Vietnam.
Wal-Mart let him go
He burned through his unemployment
and all of his savings.
Cancer ate that up.
He's broke.
He applied for help
from the VA.
It never got processed.
It was lost.
Nobody ever told him
how to get help.
When he got out of the VA hospital
they didn't say anything.
All they did was call him a cab.
The only benefit they promised him
was his burial benefit,"
A whole $300.
Welcome Home Again
Some Vietnam veterans are still struggling
with the way they were treated
when they returned home.
The memories are starting to fade.
He is almost 65 but remembers
his homecoming was like "The Twilight Zone."
He went from being on a river boat
during an ambush to being back
in the cold snow in 48 hours.
While the time he spent fighting
is long behind him,
the effect of the war has stayed with him.
He wasn't diagnosed with PTSD
until about four or five years ago.
It's nothing drastic,
like some of the guys have suffered,
but it has affected him through all these years.
He lost some friends
and saw some terrible things.
with the way they were treated
when they returned home.
The memories are starting to fade.
He is almost 65 but remembers
his homecoming was like "The Twilight Zone."
He went from being on a river boat
during an ambush to being back
in the cold snow in 48 hours.
While the time he spent fighting
is long behind him,
the effect of the war has stayed with him.
He wasn't diagnosed with PTSD
until about four or five years ago.
It's nothing drastic,
like some of the guys have suffered,
but it has affected him through all these years.
He lost some friends
and saw some terrible things.
Another Crazed Vet Incident
The 61-year-old Vietnam veteran
is facing a felony
for striking and threatening
to kill his girlfriend.
He barricaded himself
inside his house.
The woman called police
and said he had grabbed her,
shoved her and threatened to kill her.
The woman fled the home screaming
and told officers that he had guns,
had a history of psychiatric problems
and was threatening to kill himself.
He finally came out unarmed.
Inside the man’s home,
police fund four loaded guns
as well as two drums of jet fuel.
It wasn’t illegal
to possess the jet fuel
but the fuel had the potential
to blow up his house.
is facing a felony
for striking and threatening
to kill his girlfriend.
He barricaded himself
inside his house.
The woman called police
and said he had grabbed her,
shoved her and threatened to kill her.
The woman fled the home screaming
and told officers that he had guns,
had a history of psychiatric problems
and was threatening to kill himself.
He finally came out unarmed.
Inside the man’s home,
police fund four loaded guns
as well as two drums of jet fuel.
It wasn’t illegal
to possess the jet fuel
but the fuel had the potential
to blow up his house.
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