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Wednesday, December 5, 2007

For veterans, the feeling of always being on guard is hard to shake

For veterans, the feeling of always being on guard is hard to shake
By JAMES A. FUSSELL
The Kansas City Star

Maj. Jason “Tank” Sherman “never ran into things like the infantry guy goes through.” Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment of our veterans roundtable. To read previous installments, go to KansasCity.com.

Q. Many soldiers talk about the heightened sense of alert needed to survive in war. How long did that feeling of always being “on guard” take to go away?

Joseph L. Dickerson (Korean War): It never left me. I never liked to sit with my back to the window. Snipers will get you. I don’t feel comfortable like that. And I don’t feel comfortable going in places with one door. You’re trapped.

And I have dreams. I’ve been having those dreams for years. I make sure all the doors are locked. And I have a weapon.

Gary Shepard (Vietnam War): I lock my door at night. I lock and load and set my pistol up by my head — every night. I’ve got a 9 millimeter. I still check all the doors, and my dog usually sleeps close to me — I like that.

I still don’t like my back to the door, or any of that kind of stuff. But it’s not as bad.

I know I said our country didn’t do enough for us as they should. I don’t think they have. But I still love this country. And I would fight for (it) again today.

go here for more of these
http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/390911.html

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Coming home from war is slow and tricky behind closed doors after the public homecoming celebrations. Soldiers don’t just pick up where they left off. The business of getting back to family life holds struggles all its own.
Do veterans feel appreciated?


From humorous to hellish, wartime memories stick with veterans VIDEO
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Recently we sat down with soldiers from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Vets face little overt hostility on campuses, but they feel different from other students VIDEO
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On campus, it’s the little things. Walking past a group of street-corner war protesters, the ones holding signs that say “Honk for peace,” Trisha Marie Thompson has a visceral reaction.

For veterans, one homecoming experience doesn’t fit all VIDEO
- 12/03/2007 04:59 PM CST
“When you go from military back to civilian, that’s a heck of a big adjustment,” says Vietnam veteran and National World War I Museum volunteer Ernest Torok, as Bonner Springs High School students listen in.
In one way, all combat soldiers are the same. They’ve left their loved ones, lived with fear and faced live fire in the service of their country.

On returning to the U.S., some vets feel lucky but lost VIDEO
- 12/03/2007 06:20 AM CST
ALLISON LONG The Kansas City Star -->Iraq war veteran James Wilson holds his infant daughter, Lilly, as his stepson, Chandler, watches. Wilson was wounded three times in Iraq. After his truck exploded, Wilson said, “I don’t remember anything until I woke up in (the hospital in) San Antonio.”
After serving in combat, resuming civilian life can feel like walking into another minefield.

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