Is it true that these days alot of veterans turn into people like ‘luietenant Dan’ from forest Gump?
tkmonster asked:
I heard this thing on the radio about ex-marines from Iraq and Afghanistan killing themselves through drug use (Sometime intentional sometimes not) , because of pysocological problems (from various causes e.g torturing, accidentally killing civilians) and the other day this hobo guy who coudln’t stand up straight who smelt like grog and looked totally drugged effed told me i should give him money because he was a veteran. I dont know if he is a veteran or not but is it true that more and more veterans are living on the streets and going through poverty because of depression and thing like that?
I heard this thing on the radio about ex-marines from Iraq and Afghanistan killing themselves through drug use (Sometime intentional sometimes not) , because of pysocological problems (from various causes e.g torturing, accidentally killing civilians) and the other day this hobo guy who coudln’t stand up straight who smelt like grog and looked totally drugged effed told me i should give him money because he was a veteran. I dont know if he is a veteran or not but is it true that more and more veterans are living on the streets and going through poverty because of depression and thing like that?
Those guys are the unfortunate ones. Overall, most veterans make a reasonable adjustment back to life as civilians. Some don’t, and those are the ones that try to use drugs and alcohol to chase away the ghosts they brought back with them from the fields of war.
Most of them come out of the army and have money for a house and get veteran preference such as getting post office jobs over everybody who is not a veteran even though they may be less qualified on the test (I use this as an example because I worked for USPS and I was one of few in there that wasnt a veteran), and get discounts on things (I took a greyhound the other day, they have a veteran discount). Its almost like affirmative action. Even though they were already paid for being over there, they get treated better by society the rest of their life, and those guys involved in the My Lai Massacre are still called heroes to this day. They dont have it so bad, but yes, there are many who do have it bad because of the war. My best friend went over there, straight A student type of guy, never got in trouble. He came back and within a few months he got into an argument with his girlfriend and strangled her. Hes now in prison for murder. Out of all my friends, he was the one my mom called a good influence on me and the only one she wanted me hanging out with. So yes, the war can ***** peoples minds up pretty bad.
Just like during and after Viet Nam, our men and women are coming home scarred; both physically and emotionally. As was said by another person, most of our returning vets have a “normal” transition back to civilian life and become productive members of our society. But the Iraq war has been different than the Viet Nam war in one very important aspect; injuries in Viet Nam tended to be more lethal. There were more KIA’s than WIA’s. In Iraq, that seems to be the opposite. And now we have another entire generation of disabled veterans to care for and it’s our solemn duty as citizens to do so. Once again our men and women in uniform have answered the bell when their government called under questionable circumstances. I just thank God that we Americans seem to have learned our lesson from Viet Nam in how to treat our returning vets. Only time will tell. For all who serve and have served, regardless of branch of service, thank you from another veteran and a citizen of a grateful nation. May God grant you his strength and above all his peace. It’s time to come home.
Myth: The media have reported that suicides among Vietnam veterans range from 50,000 to 100,000 – 6 to 11 times the non-Vietnam veteran population.
Fact: Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. “The CDC Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed that during the first 5 years after discharge, deaths from ******* were 1.7 times more likely among Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from ******* than non-Vietnam veterans. In fact, after the 5-year post-service period, the rate of suicides is less in the Vietnam veterans’ group.
However, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans are a different story. Their ******* rates is alarmingly high. This is in part do to the lack of care giving by the government at the VA Hospitals. I personally can attest to this being a Vietnam Vet with a diagnoses of PTSD. This is another example of why you don’t want Government run health care.