Vietnam veterans who found that the only way for them to move forward, was to go back

Healing the spiritual wounds of war

WITF PBS
Merideth Bucher
December 16, 2019

War wounds are not always physical.

Psychological wounds caused by the traumas of war can be equally debilitating. And because the injury is not visible to friends and loved ones, those suffering often deal with it in silence or behave out of character.

A mental health condition caused by trauma is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, frightening or dangerous event or experiences. PTSD can affect anyone, not only veterans. First responders, and even abused children, can suffer from PTSD.

In past wars, PTSD was called shell shock or combat stress. Symptoms of the disorder can be characterized as heightened anxiety, feeling constantly on edge or experiencing extreme or unreasonable anger during routine situations. PTSD can manifest itself in different ways, for different people. It might affect a person for a few months, or their entire life. It doesn’t always go away entirely; like the tide, it may ebb and flow.

There are local Vietnam veterans who found that the only way for them to move forward, was to go back. Back to Vietnam.

Former Army Capt. Aaron Lax served in the U.S. Army for nine years. During that time, he served with the 1st of the 26th Infantry regiment “Blue Spaders,” part of the 1st Infantry Division, from 2010-2012 and deployed with them to eastern Afghanistan. Lax next served with 1st battalion of the 320th Field Artillery Regiment “Top Guns,” part of the 101st Airborne Division, from 2012-2017.

Bob Smoker was drafted into the U.S. Army in May 1969.  After basic and then infantry training, he arrived in Vietnam in early October 1969 and turned 20-years- old later that month. Smoker was assigned to Charlie Company 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

Former Air Force Staff Sergeant Ed Hardesty was the non-commissioned officer in charge of weapons and munitions for the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, an air rescue helicopter squadron out of Danang Air Force Base, Vietnam, from 1968 through 1969.

Former U.S. Army soldier Charles Lee deployed to Vietnam in 1970 at the age of 19, right after marrying his first wife. In Vietnam, Lee was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery, on a track vehicle known as a Duster.
read it here

Want to prevent veterans from killing themselves? Bobby Grey is an example of how to do it!

PTSD Nearly Killed Him - Now it's Helping Him Help Other Veterans

The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
By Jimmy Tomlin
15 Dec 2019

The scar on Bobby's neck lasted for weeks.

The scars on his heart have lasted much longer.

You can't see Bobby Grey's scars.

On the surface, he's just an ordinary 35-year-old husband. FedEx driver. Racing fan. Philadelphia Eagles diehard. Dog owner.

He's also a former Marine, 2003 to 2007 -- a mission that has given him great pride and great anguish. Twelve years later -- anguish or not -- he still loves the Corps to the core. Semper Fi -- always faithful.

Grey acknowledges, though, that that's where the scars originated.

North Carolina Marine veteran, Bobby Grey, discusses his suicide attempt seven years after an explosive Iraqi attack on his unit during Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Day at the Charlotte National Guard Armory on July 26, 2014. Grey said he had no memory of the suicide attempt when he awakened from a coma a week and half later. He tells his story to bring attention to the severity of the disorder so fellow comrades can seek help. (Ruth McClary/National Guard)

As a young devil dog, a PFC scarcely six months out of boot camp, Grey deployed to Iraq and got his first taste of combat when he was only 20 years old. One day, Marines in his convoy -- guys he knew -- died when a roadside bomb blew up beneath them. On another day, during a firefight with Iraqi insurgents, bullets whizzed over Grey's head, close enough that he could hear them. Seconds later, when the bullets shattered the windows behind him, a shower of glass rained down on his head.

But those days were nothing compared to Dec. 3, 2004, the day a suicide bomber rocked his unit's base with an explosion so violent that it literally blew him out of the chow hall where he'd been dining. He suffered a concussion and a mild traumatic brain injury -- as if anything traumatic could be mild -- but several comrades fared worse, suffering broken bones and dislocated hips. Two of his buddies died in the blast, and Grey had to put them in body bags himself.

"It's like losing a brother," he says softly. "No, it is losing a brother."

These are the memories Grey brought home from Iraq, carrying them around like a rucksack on his back. Also in that invisible rucksack, Grey lugged PTSD -- post-traumatic stress disorder -- a mental and emotional condition which, though common among active military personnel and veterans alike, he knew little about and even denied having.

Six and a half years ago, that denial nearly killed him. When the PTSD that had been simmering inside him for years suddenly exploded, Grey snapped. After an argument with his wife, Kia, he stormed out of the couple's house in Thomasville, climbed a magnolia tree in the backyard, texted his wife an apology, and hanged himself with an extension cord. He only survived because of Kia's screams when she found him, a neighbor with a ladder who helped cut him down, and Kia's frantic CPR efforts as she waited for paramedics to arrive.
read it here

Senator McConnell just made the case for his own expulsion

It seems that Senator McConnell is prepared to protect and defend the President over the duty of the Senate to protect and defend the Constitution.

McConnell, then the chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, made it clear he thought the Constitution required the Senate to hold a full trial on the articles of impeachment Clinton was facing for perjury and obstruction of justice, culminating in a vote on whether to convict or acquit the president.

Why should the rules and laws of this nation matter to him now?

McConnell told NBC’s Tim Russert in December 1998 that the Senate had a “constitutional obligation to commence the trial” but that the trial should be short.

Listen to his own words

It seems as if most Americans find McConnell's attitude toward holding this president accountable very troubling.

Fox News Poll: Trump job approval ticks up, views on impeachment steady

The poll, conducted Sunday through Wednesday, also finds 50 percent want Trump impeached and removed from office, 4 percent say impeached but not removed, and 41 percent oppose impeaching him altogether.

You read that right. Half of the American people not only want President Trump impeached...they want him gone from office.

I listened to a lot of the hearings but while the Democrats arrived with facts and experts, the Republicans arrived ready to do battle loaded with BS and insulted the intelligence of the American people.

Defending the President is one thing if he bothered to participate, or even show the process enough respect to turn over evidence that was required. So far, he has denied the American people the right to know the evidence against him, as much as he has denied us the right to see what would support his claims.

It is however, worse that McConnell is OK with all of that now! President Trump has been accused of terrible things and justice demands a fair trial, not someone like McConnell in opposition to what the Founding Fathers put in place so that no one would ever assume the office of the President allows them to be above the law!

The United States Constitution gives the Senate the power to expel any member by a two-thirds vote. This is distinct from the power over impeachment trials and convictions that the Senate has over executive and judicial federal officials. The Senate concluded in 1798 that senators could not be impeached, but only expelled, while conducting the impeachment trial of William Blount, who had already been expelled.

I stayed out of this for too long because I believed that Trump would get a fair trail but when the ones putting him on trial are already saying they are "coordinating with the President" it is time for all of us to speak up!

A homeless war veteran 'took his own life' after feeling 'lost' in the UK

Homeless war veteran, 29, 'took his own life' after feeling 'lost' when he left the Army and spending a year 'sofa surfing' with friends

Daily Mail
By LUKE ANDREWS FOR MAILONLINE
December 2019

Wayne Green, 29, was found dead in a friend's flat after receiving 'no help'
He was discharged four months into training for the Duke of Lancaster regiment
Heartbroken father Wayne Snr, 52, said it had been his dream to join the army
A homeless war veteran 'took his own life' after feeling 'lost' when he left the Army and spending a year 'sofa surfing' with friends.

Wayne Green, 29, from Bolton, 'received no help' from the army after he was discharged four months into his training for the Duke of Lancaster regiment in Catterick, near Darlington.

His heartbroken father Wayne Snr, 52, said his son was putting up pylons before realising his dream of joining the armed forces in 2017.

Wayne Green, 29, from Bolton, was found dead at a friend's flat after receiving 'no help' from the armed forces

Mr Green's body was found at a friend's flat last month. An inquest is set for June next year.

Wayne's father told The Sunday Mirror that after his son came back from the army, it was as though he could not 'accept he'd left'.

As many as 35,000 veterans could be homeless this Christmas.
read it here

If you are right, giving up is wrong

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
December 15, 2019

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” ―Dale Carnegie

When you know you are right about something, you fight to prove it. You do not give up on what is important to you. At least that is the way it is supposed to work, but sometimes, no matter how hard or how long you try, fighting can drain whatever hope you have left. But fighting is what keeps us moving forward.

When I moved to New Hampshire, I brought a truckload of misery with me. I did not notice I packed every rotten thing that happened there 1,600 miles away.
read it here