Today's video I talked in raw detail about what it was like having a veteran of Vietnam Vet for a father. I really had to dig deep for this and it was emotionally exhausting. I talked about things I haven't thought about in years and some things I haven't even talked to my daughter about. There are some things I can never talk about because of the risky nature of them.
When my father first came back from Vietnam, there was such an Anti-War thought that Vietnam Vets often found it hard to get a job. That I am happy to say this has changed. Today veterans are given first shot at a job which they qualify for. KISS first opened their cafes in Los Angeles, they hired veterans first. Everyone else had to take a number and wait. That made my late father happy to know this was changing. (He died in 2002.) At least he lived to see this one thing change.
For years he worked at Emerson Electric (they made the motors for GE washers and dryers) in Paragould Arkansas where I grew up. He and I were both born in Michigan where my daughter and I currently live. Monroe is a lot like Paragould. It's big enough to have a choice of restaurants but not so big you can't move around like say Detroit. It takes about an hour to go from point A to point B. And forget about getting back home the same way you came in.
During his last tour of Vietnam, dad lost the lower part of his left leg. From the bottom of the knee down to the toes. There was one occasion when he broke one of the screws in the ankle of the artificial leg. When he went in to talk to his boss, the man was dumbfounded. Until dad explained to him. The next day we had to go down to Little Rock Arkansas where the closest VA hospital was. That was until he learned about the hospital in Poplar Bluff Mosuri. Which was about a 45-minute drive compared to the three-hour drive to Little Rock.
When I was fifteen he was forced to retire from Emerson. He could no longer take walking and standing on the concrete floors anymore. This news took a toll on him. My father's generation was raised to work and earn a living to provide for their family. That is when the PTSD really showing it's face. I often had no idea what I was coming home to. There would be times when his flashbacks to the children which were used as what we now call suicide bombers. These memories haunted him the most. During the protest that went on here, they had no idea that the Viet Kong were the ones using children against the soldiers. No soldier sees a child and thinks a bomber. The protesters called our soldiers baby killers without knowing the truth of who was really killing these children. Their faces haunted him till he died. He would sit and cry for hours after a flashback involving children. You see as much as the Special Ops tries to drain the humanity out of soldiers to turn them into cold-blooded killing machines, they fail.
There were times I had no idea what I was walking into. Murder & Suicide. There were also times I didn't know if I see the morning light. The tension would get so bad that I would consider running a razor across my wrist because death had to be better than this was. Not knowing if you would be killed by your own parent in your sleep was terrifying. When you see a headline "Vet kills wife and kids then himself" don't automatically assume he planned it. That is rarely the case. When they get into a flashback they a mentally back on the battlefield. When they don't see their brothers in arms it is alarming and they automatically assume that whoever is standing in front of them must be the guilty party. Yes! I know women are now on the battlefield and yes they can get PTSD as well. I am focusing on my late father so relax. Women weren't in the field then. It was too dangerous. How many times have we heard about women being raped in the field? To often.
I am going to stop here because I feel like I have made my point. If you or someone you know is considering joining the military, please watch my video. I am telling stuff you won't be told by the recruiters.
