Story Peeps Change Lives

Life After Vietnam

Written by Harry Angstom

My secret is that I think I am over the hill.

 I think that at the age of 60 no one wants to listen to a guy my age. And yet my problems might be different but they are still problems that keep the heart, soul and mind from being at peace.

At one point in my life it was all right to spout off about Vietnam. Actually early on it wasn't. When the veterans came home from Vietnam they were called cry babies by the veterans of World War II and the Korean War. And then came a time when the nation wanted to hear our stories and finally accepted the warriors.

Now the veterans are old and left to feel like they are all washed up. AT some point of your life when you have not gotten over things that happened 40 years or so ago, you are acting old. Yet, in my mind Vietnam was just yesterday. When I hear kids crying I am taken right back to a village in Vietnam where woman and children were whimpering and crying as a squad of marines carried in green rubber ponchos with their dead brother marines. Crying not for the dead marines but for their own safety. And takes me right back to the moment I have the barrel of my M-16 pressed against the forehead of a young girl and I have flicked the selector switch to full automatic, and I ... and I can't pull the trigger because my Captain has pressed the barrel of his .45 against my temple and says, "pull that trigger and that will be the last thing you will ever do in life." I drop my rifle, fall to my knees and cry forever.

Author Profile: Harry Angstom

This author has published 2 articles so far. More info about the author is coming soon.

Comments  

 

+1 #3 Never Going Home — Horseshoe 2010-10-10 15:41

Several years ago wife and I visited The Wall in Washington DC. As I was leaving someone said "it's over welcome home". I replied "I'll never be able to go home". It's true you know. I am different, home is different.
I am now 63, and just waiting to die. There is no life for me. I stay in my bedroom, never go anywhere. I have given up on life. What we did, and what we saw has changed us forever.

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0 #2 RE: Life After Vietnam — Harryangstom 2010-09-24 10:29

Quoting DC:

I just wanted to say, I appreciate you sharing your story and many thanks for serving! My Step-Dad was a Marine in the Vietnam War - who now suffers from PTSD and some other health issues due to Agent Orange. There are so many questions I want to ask him and inquire about the war but I don't dare, because I would never want him to re-live that traumatic experience. Well, I wish you all the best!

Namaste,

DC

Thanks

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0 #1 Hello there, — DC 2010-09-16 14:40

I just wanted to say, I appreciate you sharing your story and many thanks for serving! My Step-Dad was a Marine in the Vietnam War - who now suffers from PTSD and some other health issues due to Agent Orange. There are so many questions I want to ask him and inquire about the war but I don't dare, because I would never want him to re-live that traumatic experience. Well, I wish you all the best!

Namaste,

DC

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