I would never in a million years pretend to think that I know what it would be like to be in a war. I would tell you very honestly that war is at the top end of my scariest things list. I am terrified of war.
I would never in a million years tell anyone that I know what it means to come home from something such as war and have those memories and experiences at the forefront of my mind while most everyone else around me hadn’t a clue of any of that as even being possible.
It isn’t until we stop. Stop to take a moment to really think about what that must be like, that we get a sliver of a glimpse into that veteran’s mind.
When I was in the midst of The Stinky Story I felt as if everyone else’s life had gone on while mine had stopped, taken a grotesque turn, and then returned to something I was supposed to redefine as normal. I would suppose this is to be the same as coming home from a war, especially an unpopular one, only magnified to the 1000th degree.
Today I raise my glass to Uncle Ron and all the others out there who did what was asked of them at the time. Cheers to what life has been redefined as being, in the aftermath, with memories etched into your psyche and influencing your spirit forever.
The King spent one day last week in Hiroshima as a tourist at ground zero. This so deeply affected him that he called to tell me that he wants his children to all be witness to what is left in memorium there. He said, “All our kids need to come here because it can’t be explained. I think everyone should see this and that would solve all the problems in the world.” The incredible affect humanity has upon humanity and the toll of innocent lives lost to protect the freedoms we enjoy today. Difficult decisions calculated to cost the least amount of lives made by our veteran’s who lived with that the rest of their days. Cheers to the WWII Veteran’s who are a dying breed of men and women we cannot ever fully appreciate. The Hiroshima experience has moved my King to tears along with the other grown men he was with and we are decades down the road.
I am not a fan of war. I do not pretend to know much about war. I just know that for a day it is good to reflect and take time to express gratitude to those who have come back with lives to put back together. I also think it is a good day to remember those who have not been able to do that successfully and who need our compassion and love shown to them. The most generous amounts of our compassion and love to all of them.
Ann Topham said,
November 11, 2009 at 10:07 am
You hit it right on. We don’t know what it is like for them. My classmates were in the era of an unpopular war. They did not get a hero’s welcome. Many of the homeless men in their 60’s are products of that war, and trying to run away from it and the memories.
I remember a patient we had at the Univeristy Hospital. He was a very nice man, and very calm, accepting his illness and hospitalization. One night he was found under his bed, IV’s pulled out, and he was hiding from the Viet Cong. His room was near the Helipad and as the helicopter took off, he reacted. In his semi conscious state, he was back in Nam and being attacked by the helicopter. You just never know.
My friends who have sons who have been in Iraq and Afganistan have had a hard time getting back into “normal” modes. They have all kept journals, which they hide from theri Moms, as they don’t want them to know the HELL they have been going through over there.
Yes, we are thankful for our freedom, but at such a cost to lives and wellbeing. The King is correct. Whenever you have the opportunity to visit a war memorial or a “ground zero” it really instills that in your soul.
Sorry, you touched a spot. Love Ya
Bogey said,
November 11, 2009 at 10:41 am
Beautifully written Queen. Not many people have the opportunity to stand at such a memorial as your King. I think today’s generation are beginning to understand more of what it takes to achieve democracy. We must continue to understand it and teach our children otherwise, the blood shed will have been for nothing.
Lori said,
November 11, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Very beautifully said my friend. I do know some young men that have come back in the last couple years from the war and they are changed boys. Their mom’s tell me that they suffer with nightmares, their eating and sleep and moods. Very sad. I also think about the wives and children left behind here. All of this is so hard but I do think we need to remember and honor those who have served and are serving now. Our freedom has come at a price I really don’t think those of us that haven’t been there and lived it, know just how much of a price it is. XXOO Lori