After decades of untreated rage, Vietnam veteran finds peace

After decades of untreated rage, Vietnam veteran finds peace

Lorene Parshall, Staff Writer
January 17, 2012

Edward Fischer Jr. served as senior radio operator for Combat Operations with the 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry, 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam (Courtesy photo)

GAYLORD — Friday, Jan. 27, will mark the 39th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Accord that ended U.S. participation in the Vietnam War.

Many of the veterans who fought in that war, however, have yet to find peace.

A government study estimated there are a million Vietnam vets with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following them throughout their lives.

Edward Fischer Jr. was one of those vets. He served with the 1st Cavalry Division from September 1967 until May 1968.

“One of the traumas for me was the day after day, week after week, month after month of constant combat,” said Fischer, who was a senior radio operator. “There were 900 men in my unit. We trained together for nine months before leaving the states and all knew each other. I had to watch my buddies getting killed and wounded all around me.”

Photos of a 23-year-old Fischer in Vietnam give the impression of a good-natured young man with a big grin, a person who looked forward to the glories of war. The realities of war knocked that grin off his face and tortured him for decades with the invisible wounds of PTSD.

“I had nightmares about combat every night,” he said. “I felt aghast, helpless, anxious, lost. I started drinking constantly and was angry and screaming at people all the time.”
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