As someone who served in both Vietnam and Iraq, I have seen
my share of the horrors of war. I may be sixty-four years old, but I still see
the faces of my young soldiers in Vietnam like it was yesterday - the ones who lived
and the ones who died.
There is an ache in my soul that is always there. But I have
lived with it for so long that it has become a part of who I am. I call it “living
with ghosts”; the body bags, the torn bodies, the blank faces, the jungle
clearings, the crashed helicopters, the smells, the sounds….
When I was first married almost forty years ago, my wife
said she would wake up in the middle of the night, and she could see my silhouette
creeping through the room like I was holding a rifle on patrol. I would wander
around for a while then return to bed. She said she was too scared to wake me
up. My night "patrols" stopped eventually – to her great relief – but I never remembered them.
I was lucky, and I learned to cope with the bad memories even though a passing thought can bring goose bumps to my arms. Like many veterans from America's wars, I can't forget the horrors. But all men and women are made differently. Some can learn to live with the ghosts, but others cannot.
Remember my fellow warriors: It takes a warrior to ask for help. Your brothers are here for you. Seek help, contact the VA, talk to a college counselor, do something, do anything, but do not give up. You would not quit on the battlefield, so do not quit back here.
The following story is about a young captain who did his
very best to help soldiers who were both psychologically and physically wounded
by war. He counseled them on the battlefield, and he tried to help them heal at
home. Unfortunately, his own soul’s pain was magnified by the suffering of others, and he eventually committed suicide.
Like the inmate in the “Green Mile,” he took the pain of his fellow troops as if it were his own
while trying to teach them how to live with what they had endured.
Don't read his story to learn how he died; read it to learn how he lived.....
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VET WHO SAVED MANY IN IRAQ COULDN’T ESCAPE DEMONS
The Blaze
March 18, 2013
He had a knack for soothing soldiers who'd just seen their
buddies killed by bombs. He knew how to comfort medics sickened by the smell of
blood and troops haunted by the screams of horribly burned Iraqi children.
Capt. Peter Linnerooth was an Army psychologist. He
counseled soldiers during some of the fiercest fighting in Iraq. Hundreds upon
hundreds sought his help. For nightmares and insomnia. For shock and grief. And
for reaching that point where they just wanted to end it all.
Read more at: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/18/vet-who-saved-many-in-iraq-couldnt-escape-demons/%20?test=latestnews
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Rest brother, until your fellow warriors are with you once again….
Posted by:
Charles M. Grist
