It seemed like most of the men I met when I was homeless that were my age or older were Vietnam Vets.
I enlisted active duty Navy at the tail end of Vietnam. I was in a stateside unit that had men who had been rotated back, but it was only talked about on late night watches - and not really much then. When I went into the reserves later, I became friends with a few guys that had been in Vietnam and there were a a number of late nights drinking and telling stories that they let me hang out with them for.
I was talking to a guy the other day and he asked me why I thought Vietnam Vets had more of a hard time adjusting to re-entry into civilian life. I thought about the difference in the Korean War and WWII vets returning and it seemed to me that one of the big differences is that Vietnam Vets were not celebrated as heros when they returned.
Ok, this is just my opinion, I'm no expert and I certainly haven't done any research, but the guys I met on the street all had the same refrain... "We did what they asked us to, and then we were despised when we came back". I thought that could be one of the reasons that Vietnam Vets had a harder time with PTSD and living a life. I know that the guys I hung out with were bitter and resentful about the way they were treated when they came back and got out of the service.
I knew this guy called Sarge, and another one called Captain while I was homeless. Sarge had a messed up leg and couldn't walk very well. Captain was chronically ill from agent orange. They both had flashbacks and if a layperson could diagnose PTSD, I would sure say they both had it.
I never saw them together, don't even know if they knew each other, but they both had some characteristics in common. Each one of them asked me if I was hungry any time they saw me. Either one of them would (and did) give me a blanket and a safe place to sleep if I was tired. No matter how drunk they were, they were invariably polite to me.
One time when I was looking for services, the veterans counselor at the services center talked to me about a homeless veteran re-entry program. I had to have 48 hours clean and make a 6 month committment. I thought it was a great program and hope that it helped some of the guys get off the streets.
Sarge was still there the last time I was in town, but Captain isn't around anymore. No one could tell me where he went.
[homeless][Vietnam Vets][life][personal]
Its been a number of years since I was homeless. A woman on the street develops ways to cope. Memories of those years I spent outside and the people I knew there fill my mind at times. I write them down here so they don't fade away. Some of these stories contain graphic language - either sexual content or the use of drugs. Please do not read if you are disturbed by such. I will leave the names out - or change them to avoid harm to anyone
Blog Archive
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2006
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March
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- The Street Vendor
- The Last Time - The Hand of the Goddess
- two hippies and their kids
- Vietnam Vets
- Walking the dog
- Lost and found and then lost again
- Standing on the Overpass
- What to remember
- Flowers for everyone
- Not dead yet
- Two guys who worked signs
- The man who fought the devil every day
- The man whose wife and child died
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March
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1 comment:
Hey Barbara! Thanks for posting on my blog. I flew down to New Mexico and over the past 2 weeks, my brother, Philip, has been "jumping through hoops" to get his pension. He's seen doctors at the VA Hospital, had tests. He's suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, severe malnutrition, and has an enlarged prostate. He says he never experienced any ill treatment after returning from Vietnam. It was the recurring nightmares of rocket attacks, dragging dead buddies off the battlefield, and the constant justifications he made to himself that there was some reason for all of it. As the years went by with information coming out about the abandonment of American soldiers basically used as cannon fodder in an ill thought out war, his rage, self-hatred, and despair grew deeper. I don't think we can keep putting 18 year olds in situations where they must kill or be killed without acknowledging and paying the price to repair their lives, whatever the cost.
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