"When I retired...Vietnam came to my mind"

Vietnam veterans battle PTSD decades after war

News 13
Tori Gessner
March 29, 2019

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) - Dozens of Vietnam veterans gathered to celebrate National Vietnam Veterans Day on Friday, but for some vets, the battle didn't end following the war.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, eight out of every 100 veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD as a result of their experiences overseas.

"I started realizing all these things that happened to me over the years- I don't like crowds, noises bother me, and it all started coming back," George Bontay, who served as a civil engineer in the Vietnam War said.

Some experience the symptoms of PTSD immediately, but many vets say they didn't realize they had it until later on.

"When I retired in 2012 from the federal government, every day all of a sudden Vietnam came to my mind, and there wasn't a day that I didn't think about Vietnam," Air Force veteran, Jaime Lleras said.

Symptoms of PTSD vary, but veterans say after the war they had trouble sleeping, constantly felt on edge and avoided talking about their experiences altogether.

While there is no cure for PTSD, some Vietnam veterans have found a sense of relief with help from the Myrtle Beach Vet Center.
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Vietnum Veteran?

Are  you still comfortably numb? It has been at least 40 years since you came home from Vietnam and the chances are, you have done everything to stop feeling. If you spent so much time and energy to get numb, you ended up being numb to the good stuff that makes life worth living.

Did you ever wonder what you were missing?

Tired of being numb?
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
January 11, 2018

I was working on a video earlier today when I typed "Vietnum veteran" instead of Vietnam veteran. Before I went to edit the text, I kept looking at it. Then it dawned on me that actually works. Oh, sure you spell numb with the B, but actually "be" has been part of your problem all along. Being willing to settle for just being half alive is not really living. It is existing.

For more than 40 years, you've been focused on what you had to do instead of what you needed to do for yourself...and your family.

You went to work, often doing jobs that were almost as dangerous as being in Vietnam. You raised a family, and in a lot of cases, more than one...and then came the time when you didn't have to go to work anymore. Kids moved out, probably have kids of their own who grew up already. If you managed to stay married, your wife is probably retired too.

My husband had to retire before the age of 50.  Sixteen years later, I'm still working and have another decade to go before I can retire.
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Did you fight in Vietnam alone?

Please explain something to me. Why is it that you went into combat with others, but find it impossible to ask for someone to help you fight the battle afterwards? 

Look at this picture.

Vietnam War and Music

Are they standing together? Did you fight in Vietnam alone?

Sure, you had no problem asking for help to defeat the enemy there. So why have such a hard time asking for help to defeat the enemy that came home with you?

For all the talk about PTSD and the number folks accept as the suicide total of veterans taking their own lives, most of them are Vietnam veterans.

65% are over the age of 50. You survived all these years but seem to want to retire and sit alone with your thoughts that you cannot control or stuff anymore.

Isolation is not the answer. Brotherhood is. Find a group of other Vietnam veterans and have someone to help you fight this battle. After all, as soon as you defeat it, the sooner you can help another veteran.

Memorial Day Participants Visit Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Barney Bidders, a retired soldier, and Les Newell, a retired Marine, both Vietnam War veterans from Virginia, recall memories of service at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial during a Memorial Day event at the wall in Washington, D.C., May 28, 2012.