We watched two episodes of “Band of Brothers,” and when I rose to go Debbie told me how the Army had prepared her for Carl’s return. “When he was coming home, the Army gave us little cards that said things like ‘Watch for psychotic episodes’ and ‘Is he drinking too much?’” she said. “A lot of wives said it was a joke. They had a lady come from the psych ward, who said—and I’m serious—‘Don’t call us unless your husband is waking you up in the middle of the night with a knife at your throat.’ Or, ‘Don’t call us unless he actually chokes you, unless you pass out. He’ll have flashbacks. It’s normal.’”


aint there nothing they can do for us if it aint that severe? before it gets that bad????? like, if the dreams are bad but we aint hurtin nobody??? what if it does end up getting that bad??? do the dreams always get worse given time or only sometimes???


Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. -Eisenhower

There are lots of indicators that the returning Veterans are having problems that the military does not deal with. That piece on the Price of Valor is just another conformation.

The idea of someone only reporting a problem when their military spouse puts a knife at your throat, takes up excessive self medication and starts being abusive is too late for the victims of that kind of thing. At that point it also becomes a violation of the law. The victim of the assault knows fear of someone they trusted.

I doubt if a veteran is going to get much in the way of help sitting in jail or going thru a divorce process. The spouses of these veterans also need a good place to go to help their veteran spouse at home.

The public access information PTSD links offer very good information. The trouble starts when a person needs someone else to talk to. That stigma of PTSD being a weakness is still very much part of the process of denial. People still get screwed up and then think they are all alone or just angry over the things they do not understand. Understanding about PTSD may never come. At least a person learns that they are not alone and have someone to talk to about it outside of the VA working hours.

If you think you have PTSD, then get some help. PTSD is not a problem that you can just ignore. It does not go away. You can learn to cope with a lot of the issues. You do have to read about PTSD and then apply coping skills.

Cherry

"That stigma of PTSD being a weakness is still very much part of the process of denial. People still get screwed up and then think they are all alone or just angry over the things they do not understand. Understanding about PTSD may never come. At least a person learns that they are not alone and have someone to talk to about it outside of the VA working hours.

If you think you have PTSD, then get some help. PTSD is not a problem that you can just ignore. It does not go away. You can learn to cope with a lot of the issues. You do have to read about PTSD and then apply coping skills."-cherryread

AMEN.


Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. -Eisenhower

I fight the VA in these battles nearly every single day of the week. The VA wants medals of valor on PTSD claims. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders IV, mentions nothing about valor being required for PTSD diagnosis.

The criteria set forth in the DSM IV is:
Diagnostic Criteria
A. The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present:
1. the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others
2. the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.

I have a book Combat Veterans and articles on my website:
http://www.geocities.com/dave_barker_amvet/index.html

I will cast no stones!

Dave Barker

A good site to view for you
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://journals.aol.com/armrdangel/AVIETNAMVETERANWAITINGFORTHEAGEN/
posted Sat, 24 July 04 08:28

Annie, send this to that young man at the airport.




http://www.strangemilitary.com/images/content/10053.jpg

Alpha Dog

^5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOOAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. -Eisenhower

i got this from a friend of mine who knows im a combat vet who appreciates good poetry...wasn't part of a 'masss mailing' thing..but man..it's GOOD..although im not a namvet..it really hit home with me..here it is:



Never To Part
By: J. Lewis Dean

Down on my knees, alone in
this room.
Haunted by memories, it has
become my living tomb.

A part of me died, so many
years ago.
But why can't I move on? Why
can I not let go?

The faces all come back, when
I close these tired eyes to sleep.
Waking up in a cold sweat, to
sit on the edge of my bed and weep.

All of the sounds, the blasts of bombs
the whirring of the bullets, and the cries
of the dying.
Each night it all comes to me, and
leaves my broken heart crying.

I was just one soldier, and so many
soldiers died, why was I, one to survive?
And why do I feel so dead inside, when
on the outside I am alive?

I really tried to do it right, to bring
my men home safe, I thought I did my
best.
But something don't feel right, inspite
of these medals upon my chest.

There's an emptiness, that abides
me, clear down to my soul.
A lonely feeling binds me, my heart
feels as black as coal.

I miss my friends, who are now names
upon a wall.
All I have are these memories, and
my teardrops that often fall.

What was it all for? Does anyone
really know?
My mind is guided by my heart, and
my heart is shattered so.

Sitting on the side of the bed in the
middle of this night, it's so easy to see.
My friends from that firefight, will always
be with me.

Goodnight my brothers, rest you forever
now in peace.
You will never be forgotten, though your
battles are long now ceased.

I will carry you with me, forever in my
heart.
Though through death you are gone, but
within me you live, never to part.

Written: July 16, 2004
By: J. Lewis Dean ©
TheShootist1@aol.com
Welcome Home and Thank You To All Vets!!!


Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. -Eisenhower

That sure goes straight to the marrow.

<b>POW/MIA: WHEN ONE AMERICAN IS NOT WORTH THE EFFORT TO BE FOUND, WE AS A COUNTRY HAVE LOST.</b>

Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you either hear or are about to repeat a rumor.
In ancient Greece (469-399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance.

He ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one
of your students?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test.
It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to filter what you're going to say.

The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about
to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's
try the second filter, the filter of Goodness.

Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued. "You may still pass the test though, because there is a third filter - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even
Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed. This is the
reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

It also explains why he never found out that Plato was banging his wife.


Cherry (from an email)

that is without a doubt both the most intelligent and FUNNIEST joke i have heard in a long time!

Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. -Eisenhower

On the day we went over a thousand posts on our discussion thread.....The number of American dead in Iraq went over 1000....

So Sad, and by my lights, So uneccessary!

God bless us all, each and every one!

RV Paulbear...

Point well taken...

I will cast no stones!

Dave Barker

Muscle moves fluid, muscle stretched over bone and under skin
hollow with life
she hesitates and pulls away
and with her goes all my hopes & dreams
in her eyes- mirrored my fear
my heart aches, and follows her to ancestral burial grounds
follows her to painless place
she shakes her head, i reach out to touch her
before she shies away
she permits me one furtive shaking hand on forhead
and then she is gone
I saw myself painted
in the soul of a horse

Alyssa Myracle

POW/MIA: WHEN ONE AMERICAN IS NOT WORTH THE EFFORT TO BE FOUND, WE AS A COUNTRY HAVE LOST.

Well, I was bad last night and forgot to take my meds. I've been dealing with the upcoming first anniversary of my adored Mom's death next week too so have been a tad weepy and shaky.

Anyway, that's background for a funny ha ha. I had two mega nightmares last night (MORAL OF THE STORY.....DON'T SKIP YOUR MEDS !!!)but in between the two nightmares I had a regular dream.

Sometimes when I have a bad night like last night I talk (loudly, I fear, lololol) in my sleep.

I was dreaming about one of the kids I used to mentor in Ohio and she had the flu in my dream.

I was sleeping with my head on Bob's shoulder and his ear was right there when I loudly and firmly talked in my sleep and said................

I NEED SEVEN UP AND THE CRACKERS !!!!!

Like a good man, Bob promptly got up and staggered to the kitchen returning with the stuff he was ordered (lolololololol) to get.

I woke up, knew immediately what I had done and quietly took the drink and put in on my bedside table and placed the crackers on the floor !!!

Figured it was a bad bad time to tell him I didn't need that stuff and was just talking in my sleep, he he he he he,.

Ah, life with PTSD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MOM

I believe love given is the secret of life...MOM

MoM

Soda and Crackers? Usually it is something out of season and harder to get. LOL Bob was lucky and thoughtful to provide your request.

Vickie also does some things under the influence of drugs. She will wake up have a whole conversation and then forget the whole thing. I have to make sure later that the conversation is remembered. Short term memory loss is a real pain in the arse.

I have known of people doing some strange stuff while under the influence of drugs. You can even get a DUI citation.

So bottom line is that people on meds do some strange things that seem normal at the time. When they warn you not to drive or operate machinery on some of this stuff, you need to take the label seriously.

Cherry

This is a must see !!!!!

I've Got a Picture of You

I believe love given is the secret of life...MOM

thanks MOM! I loved the song!

Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. -Eisenhower

WWII Memorial



Omission >From the New WWII Memorial

I don't care if you are an unbeliever, one should not change the words of history.


Today I went to visit the new World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. I got an unexpected history lesson. Since I'm a baby boomer, I was one of the youngest in the crowd. Most were the age of my parents, veterans of "the greatest war" with their families. It was a beautiful day, and people were smiling and happy to be there. Hundreds of us milled around the memorial, reading the inspiring words of Ike and Truman that are engraved there.


On the Pacific side of the memorial, a group of us gathered to read the words President Roosevelt used to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy-- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked."


One woman read the words aloud: "With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph." But as she read, she was suddenly angry. "Wait a minute," she said. "They left out the end of the quote. They left out the most important part. Roosevelt said "so help us God."


"You're probably right," her husband said. "We're not supposed to say things like that now."


"I know I'm right," she insisted. "I remember the speech." The two shook their heads sadly and walked away.


Listening to their conversation, I thought to myself, "Well, it has been 50 years. She's probably forgotten."


But she was right.


I went home and pulled out the book my book club is reading. It's "Flags of Our Fathers" by James Bradley. It's all about Iwo Jima. I haven't gotten too far in the book. It's tough to read because it's a graphic description of the battles in the Pacific.


But right there it was on page 58. Roosevelt's speech to the nation. It ends "so help us God."


The people who edited out that part of the speech when they engraved it on the memorial could have fooled me. I was born after the war. But they couldn't fool the people who were there. Roosevelt's words are engraved on their hearts.


WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE WORDS OF HISTORY???

People today are trying to change the history of America by leaving God out of it, but the truth is, God has been a part of this nation, since the beginning. He still wants to be.

doc stadig medic and proud of it

Christmas Poem

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;


I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."


This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan. The
following is his request. I think it is reasonable.....

PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending
this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon
and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our
being able to celebrate these festivities.Let's try in this small way to
pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes,
living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.
Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.

doc stadig medic and proud of it