Vietnam veterans still saving lives

Vietnam veterans still saving lives
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 6, 2013

It is no secret that Vietnam veterans are being pushed aside yet again. We've seen that in the latest report about "war on terror" caregivers being compensated while other veterans families are left out, even though they are doing the same job and have done it longer. We've seen in from news reports across the country. It is almost as if Vietnam veterans place in history has been cut off.

The Huffington Post has been doing a fantastic job of putting the focus on Invisible Casualties The Struggle Against Military Suicides. Most seem focused on the OEF and OIF veterans. The truth is, Vietnam veterans are among the majority of war fighters still committing suicide as well as the majority of the VA claims. They are 37% of the new claims and 36% of the backlog claims.

In one of the latests reports an Iraq veteran credits a Vietnam veteran/cop showing up at his house and saving his life.

Invisible Casualties: Iraq War Vet With PTSD Recounts His Breaking Point (VIDEO)
HuffPost Live
Posted: 09/03/2013

Approximately 8,000 veterans are thought to die by suicide each year, an 11 percent increase from 2007. Problems readjusting to civilian life, along with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, can often trigger bouts of intense depression and lead veterans to end their own lives. In a conversation about a new Huffington Post special series, Invisible Casualties, Iraq War veteran Mike McMichael discussed his own experiences with PTSD, including his breaking point.

On Christmas Eve of his first year back from Iraq, McMichael and his wife Jackie were arguing about something trivial when he flew into a rage. "Me being my PTSD self, I was being very rude, and so she's getting upset and I'm getting upset and at a certain point, I blacked out," he explained to host Dena Takruri.

Terrified by her husband's outburst, McMichael's wife had called the police. The sheriff who showed up to address the situation ultimately may have saved McMichael's life. "The sheriff deputy came out, and luckily it was a Vietnam veteran, and in his words, he told me that if another police officer would have came, he truly believes that they probably would have -- big chance they would have put me down that night.
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Saving lives is something that didn't stop for them when they came home from Vietnam. They do it in obvious ways.

Vietnam veteran Jimmie Moore died saving others from house fire. "He was a Vietnam vet. He served in '68-'69. He was 101st Airborne."

Most of the time they do it in quiet ways.

They fought to open our eyes so that we would do something for them and we did. We opened our wallets and supported charities. We wrote letters to members of congress to do something. We joined with veterans and fought side by side to do the right thing for a change, just as we are doing all of that now for the newer generation.

There are so many things we learned because Vietnam veterans just didn't give up, yet they are the majority of the suicides tied to military service even now.

They are ignored yet ever willing to step up and help the new generation. They are ready and waiting, eager to help this generation to figure out what PTSD is and how they can heal so they can live better lives. Congress ignores the lessons they have to teach even though had it not been for them there is an ever increasing list of mental health treatments all tied back to them.

The biggest one is the fact that while their bodies made it home, it is their soul that most Vietnam veterans to prove to the others they can live better lives today.

They are soul survivors. They figured out how to forgive. Forgive others for the way they were treated. Forgive those who sought to harm them. Forgive their families for turning their backs on them. Know they were forgiven for whatever they felt they had to be forgiven for but perhaps the hardest forgiveness to obtain was the one that healed them the most. The ability to forgive themselves.

Everyday they show up. They show up on the job as police officers, firefighters and some still putting on the uniforms of the National Guards and Reserves.

"The last Vietnam veteran from the South Dakota Air National Guard. Senior Master Sgt. Steve Abraham, of Rapid City, has announced he will retire June 20 after serving 33 years in the United States armed forces."

I have the privilege of spending most of my time with Vietnam veterans and the blessing of being married to one of them going on 29 years this month.

In the years since we met in 1982, I have seen all the changes going on in the country and what has resulted by the efforts of these veterans. Nothing would be available for the newer veterans had they not fought for it but there are larger lessons to learn from their example.

PTSD does not have to destroy your life and you can heal with the right kind of help.

The suffering of war fighters does not end when they come home as they hold the title of veteran for the rest of their lives.

Most service groups are headed by Vietnam veterans and they have not forgotten their promise to not leave one generation behind even though the new charities are leaving them out.

Marriages do not have to fall apart. If we did it when nothing was being done to save us, then anyone can now there is so much being done.

The greatest lesson is just because they are no longer risking their lives in combat, they are still saving lives right back here.