Page 36 - A Soldiers Exposition

My lesson that day was that you never know; you just never know. Freedom can be snatched away in a
moment. After talking with C.B. and gaining a better perspective of what the Berlin Wall actually
represented, I decided to re-enlist and do my share for the cause of freedom. I hope I contributed in
some small way. I feel it was the right thing to do, for all the right reasons.

September 3, 1971: Four Power's Agreement over Berlin visiting becomes easier for West Berliners.

November 9, 1989: Thirty-two years later, the Berlin Wall is opened and eventually torn down.

Christmas 1968 is over, and I am back in my unit.

Throughout the course of the next three years, most of the guys in my unit were placed on “levy” (called
to duty) for service in Vietnam.

Twelve of the “twenty- six” came home with major non-combat related injuries, seven were returned home
dead; killed in action, but not direct combat-related – no Purple Heart on their chests.

Two had committed suicide. The suicides were classified as “not in the line of duty”. The soldier’s
families received no benefits other than the payment of a paltry life insurance policy, small payment for a
lost soul.

Quietly, the soldiers were talking about having lost their souls.

The psychological term: PTSD was not out in the open. The military chain of command did little to help
the terrified soldiers. In fact, it became a stigma, a black mark on your record if you sought mental health
treatment.

Counseling was not the “accepted” treatment. Who had time for counseling while fighting a war?

Commanders and doctors decided addicting prescription medications were the fix.

Illegal drugs and alcohol became the soldier’s self-prescribed remedy for relief.

Discussions of having lost our souls were commonplace. It did not matter where you served: “In-
Country” or any place else; you were serving, experiencing through your comrades and worrying.

Getting back to the “twenty-six”; All but one member (me) of the “twenty-six” had served in Vietnam “In-
Country” in a “combat service support” role in direct support of a Combat Infantry unit and therefore by
definition, not wounded “in combat” and not eligible for the Purple Heart.