on veterans' day: sorry, not thank you

[Victor_c3]

My wife wrote the following email and sent it to all of our friends and family as her Veterans' Day message:

On this Veteran's Day, I would like to whole-heartedly say to my husband Victor, an Iraq war veteran, I'm sorry. While you will hear so many people half-heartedly say to you today "Thank you for your service", I know what you really need to hear is "I'm sorry." I'm sorry our country repeatedly put you in harms way and made you do things you can not live with yourself for doing, for a war only G.W. knows why we started. I know you signed up to be an American infantry officer when you were young and you wanted to help protect us and stop genocide, and I'm sorry our country abused you and forced you to fight in a war you didn't even believe it. I know you damn-near lost your life many times, and continue to, and I'm sorry. I know the toll that war took on you and continues to take, and I'm sorry. I'm only thankful that your holiday is and continues to be Veteran's Day, not Memorial Day, as it is to some of your buddies. On this Veteran's Day, Victor, you will hear many "Thank you for your services", and I will watch you try to not roll your eyes, but from me, you will hear "I'm sorry for the hell our country put you through." Because, as your wife who has been alongside you through all of this for over 10 years now, I know what you really need to start hearing from us is: "I'm sorry." Victor, I love you and I'm so glad you are still alive.

[img][/irmg]

Over the last 7+ years I've been struggling off and on with PTSD. Recently, I was hospitalized for about 3.5 months this summer after a pretty major flare up of my symptoms.

To echo my wife, to all of my fellow veterans out there, I'm sorry.

[99Forever]

1. ^^This^^

[unapatriciated]

2. May I say I too am sorry.

My Grandson is in boot camp for the Army right now. His girlfriend"s family talked him into joining up with the lure of a college education (they are former Army). They also got married days before he left for boot camp. Hopefully I will not have to say I'm sorry to him, but I doubt it.

[heaven05]

3. +10000

know that many are right there with you, maybe not in body, but spirit for sure. You are very lucky to have the love you have. Peace, I hope you can find. It took me a while also.

[Scuba]

4. If you want to honor veterans, stop making unnecessary wars.

[mimi85]

23. Best post of the day!

[beemer27]

5. Thank You

Victor,
This thank you is sincere. It is not your fault that our government has turned into a tool of corporations, and sends it's young men to protect the assets of those corporations. It is not your fault that the Military-Industrial complex has gained so much power. And it is not your fault that some of our leaders, who we should be able to trust, have abused their power by sending American troops off on wars that do nothing for our country.
We had the same thing in Vietnam. The troops did their duty, and did it well. We won every battle that we fought, and accomplished every task that we were asked to do. The leaders back home pissed away every gain we made, and ended up calling defeat "peace with honor".
The fools that got us involved in the Mideast are no better than the "leadership" that we had.
You did your job, and I thank you for doing it well. You and your wife will learn how to handle your problems, and lead a full and happy life. In the future, I hope that you can help some other young man who is going thru what you are, PTSD is hard to beat, and they will need help just like many of us did.
This day is for Veterans. Enjoy it-you paid your dues.

[MissDeeds]

6. I am sorry too

K&R

[Paper Roses]

7. My thoughts are with you. Wow. n/t

[onecaliberal]

8. I'm sorry.

That people in this country do not possess the intelligence to stop voting for people who send our military men and women to illegal and unnecessary wars.

[mountain grammy]

9. Very powerful!

[SunSeeker]

10. That is certainly what I think when i see any vet other than a WWII vet. nt

[sarisataka]

11. Hang in there Skipper

The dreams don't go away but they do get better.

Never, never be afraid to seek help when you need it. Many of us walk the same road and will help you up when it seems too difficult to go on

[logosoco]

12. Thank you for sharing this!

I hope you find peace. I respect those who sign up to serve the country and I am sorry that it is too much like using these people. Wars these days are not fought for our country or peace or freedom, they are to make profits for a very small number of people. That money should be going to the people who did the work, but it is not.

That ain't right!

Peace to you and thanks to your wife for putting this message into such meaningful words.

[LawDeeDah]

13. I'm sorry, Victor.

Please, let us not let anyone who voted for that war come near the Presidential office.

Please.

[B Calm]

14. K&R

[sorefeet]

15. 911 trickery

start a war over lies. Brainwash a bunch of kids with fear and the patriotic thing to do, like protect America. Bribe them to volunteer in the military. All to do their dirty work. The war makers got filthy rich from the Irag invasion. HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU MAKE CHENEY??????????

[BlancheSplanchnik]

16. thank you, Victor...for sharing this.

I'm kind of speechless. Very powerful. I'm thinking of my ex, a Vietnam vet.....it was his whole identity, the ultra-tough, ultra-male, elite-forces Recon Marine.....but it also destroyed him, emotionally.

He's a hardcore alcoholic and a mean drunk, though he started his drinking interests before he signed up way back when he was 17 (like you). I don't know if he'd even be able to understand what you and your wife are talking about. He was very quiet, but would get violently riled up "out of the blue " and explode with crazy right-wing hate. He's too damaged to communicate with anymore.

Anyway,....peace, love and strength to you Victor. I'm sorry we've become such a culture of lies.

[progressoid]

17. We're glad you're still alive too Victor.

[Mr.Bill]

18. I'm sorry I didn't work a lot harder

at protesting the war in the 60s. We maybe had a real chance at putting an end to this bullshit once and forever, but we let it slip away. One of the great regrets of my life.

[grahamhgreen]

19. I'm sorry. And sorry we have a party too chicken-sh*t to just say no to big war.

[Dont call me Shirley]

20. My sorrow for your damage is deep. My sorrow for the war-maker's damage to the world is immense

[love_katz]

21. What your wife said.

+ a gazillion!

Wishing you the best of good fortune in finding the healing that you need.

As for the rest of us: we need to continue to oppose the despicable greed-heads in the military/industrial complex, and their supporters and cheerleaders in the corporate owned McGreedia lie-spewing machine, and their sewage-swilling bribe-taking henchmen posing as our politicians.

[mahina]

22. So very well put, went right through me.

Mahalo. Wishing you healing and happiness.

Our family too...

[handmade34]

24. powerful letter

[n2doc]

25. ...

[japple]

26. Bless you, Victor. I love you and your wife. Thanks so much for your post. I am sending a HUGE

dose of healing energy your direction. Please be surrounded by all of the positive energies the Universe has to offer. You deserve all the best. ((((((((Victor))))))))

[lastlib]

27. And a big 'FUCK YOU' to the politicians who caused it.......

...and now perpetuate it with crappy medical and support services!!

May they all burn in Hell, starting with Dick Cheney and his puppet George.

[Hulk]

28. As a drafted disabled Vietnam vet, I accept your apology.

...even though you weren't even around when we were sent to that hell hole to be ground up like human hamburger for nothing but American pride.
I was one of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of young American men who were pulled out of society, quickly trained for 16 weeks, and sent half way around the world to brutalize a nation of people who didn't want us there, and who wanted to kill or maim us at every turn.
I accept the apology this country owes to those who are silent and came home in body bags, who died for no reason, other than the selfish American pride that said we couldn't leave this quagmire because we didn't win; a win that meant murdering hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people who wanted nothing more than for us to leave their soil. We would act no differently if they invaded our soil here.
So....I don't want "thank you for your service" from anyone. It's hollow and worthless. An apology makes more sense. Too late for 50,000+ young American souls who died in this blood bath. An apology for what we did to the Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian peoples because our our egotistical and greedy imperialism fifty years ago.
My heart goes out to every one of you Iraq and Afghanistan vets. We were all pawns. We were all used. Don't thank us....apologize and show us you have learned from your mistakes never to do this again.

[glinda]

29. I am sorry also.

My father, who just passed away, was a WWII Vet with undiagnosed PTSD. He survived by filling his life with meaningful things as much as possible, coaching kids in baseball, taking tickets at the Fair for years, helping at his Church all of the time. He managed to piece together some assemblance of a life to give it meaning and fill it up. It can be done. Much light and hope and strength to you....and get a dog!

[MrMickeysMom]

30. I'm sorry, too… You are not expendable...

… and you deserved better than this.

[The Wizard]

31. The VA has some good treatment for PTSD

both counseling and medication. If the medicine is turning you into a zombie try getting it changed.
One of my counselors, a Vietnam tunnel rat, said the country was lucky we were all getting high after returning, otherwise bodies would have been all over the streets. Of course PTSD wasn't recognized until 1980 so returning vets used reefer for the most part.

[Duppers]

32. Well said!!

to both you and your wife.


I am truly sorry for what BushCo put you through.

[UglyGreed]

33. Wishing you

all the strength, courage and love to overcome what our country has put you through.

[gwheezie]

34. I'm Sorry

My generation, the Vietnam generation sent you to war. We should have known better. I still can't believe we did this to you.