Greetings fellow Americans!
You know, ol’ friend, at first I was in favor of this war. I truly believed it was something that needed to be done. Now, I’m not so fickle as to change my mind completely, but I do believe enough is enough.
It is a war that is being dragged on and on unnecessarily. Why? Well, I won’t insult your intelligence. You know what really chafes my hide about this damn war? There are so many reasons, so I’ll give you a Reader’s Digest condensed version.
Number one: I don’t think these soldiers should be made to do more than one tour of duty. I don’t care if it’s their choice, which the majority of the time it isn’t.
For example, if you have read my book “Sitting on the Edge,” I wrote about my ol’ friend Roger. What a guy! Well, Roger had done a couple tours in Vietnam, and personally, I believe he really lost it. He would always have that damnable belt with Viet Cong fingers and ears hanging from it. Oh, he was proud of that. He was always trying to give me one.
Roger said to me on more than one occasion, “I love to put my hands around their scrawny necks and break their windpipe.” Does that sound like a rational man?
Now, I had known Roger since I was a kid. He was always kind of a mean kid, but was far from the person who stood in front of me on that day.
I asked Roger why he had volunteered for a second tour and he said to me, “Art, at first I was really scared, I didn’t know what to expect I guess, but I’ve gotten used to it. I never was good at anything in school, as you will recall. I’m good at this.”
To take a life meant nothing to him anymore. He said the first time was hard, after that it was a piece of cake, then laughed. This war had turned him into a murderer.
Now, I know all soldiers who serve more than one tour don’t go to the extreme that my friend Roger did. However, these same soldiers may have another very serious problem when they come home. It is called PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder.
More than one half of all Vietnam veterans experienced some symptom of PTSD. Only 6 percent had an injury due to combat. Fifty-two percent of men who have PTSD have an alcohol problem, while 35 percent have severe drug problems. Now, I realize PTSD is not confined to just war survivors, but combat is more likely to trigger it.
I only did one tour in Vietnam and I still have bad memories from it. It turned me into a drug addict for many years. I couldn’t keep a job or a relationship.
My brother who was a radio telephone operator in the army after returning from Vietnam would have terrible nightmares. He would often wake us all up by running through the house screaming. He too only did one tour. I believe it is wrong to make soldiers do more than one tour. Especially soldiers who are not trained for combat, like National Guardsmen.
I’m behind our men and women in Iraq 100 percent, and I believe we are doing a real disservice by playing Russian roulette with their lives. These young men and women are our future, and I think it’s time we start looking out for their welfare and not so much of another country.
Semper Fi!
