Great post... I'm a Nam vet (M-14 & twin .50's not all the cool stuff you had to play with) You make a good point of the prospective recruit pool... most of us went in broken and came out even more so. My advice- if you don't like living with ghosts, don't enlist! I'm 72 now and even now, the ghosts get loud sometimes, but like you, I'm more concerned about the kids. Like you said, we have options, most of the foster kids don't. I drank the ghosts away for 20 years... beyond suicide as an option for kids- I don't want that for any of them either... it's a miserable existence. In addition to an elevated suicide rate among teens in foster care- alcohol and drug abuse is astronomical... not to mention that a lot of the kids in the system are forced to take a panoply of psychotropics! Great article- God Bless you and thank you for your service!
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You Sir are a Hero. A Hero in which this country owes a HUGE apology to. I take you very much for your service and I hope your ghosts give you more and more rest.
You make valid points, and one can only hope that movements such as this brings light onto this broken system producing broken souls.
Thank you very much for the response, looking forward to speaking with you again soon.
I've been posting on this issue since I've been on steemit- before even. I've been fighting corruption in government since I got out of college in 95.
I thank you for your kind words- to me a hero is just some poor scared kid trying to get home alive. Fear propels people into doing heroic things I guess. If you meet somebody that wasn't scared out of his/her wits the whole time in combat- they weren't there!
Once again, Thank you for your service Brother!
Thanks richq11, I am a Viet Vet too (USMC War Dogs, Scout Dogs, 2nd, 5th & 7th Marines), I lived the same or similar life you have, happy to report the worst appears to be in my past but its ugly head manifests without notice from time-to-time. I do not know all that much about foster care or the motivation for giving it but I know a lot about corruption and how it effects all of us. There is no doubt in my mind that many of today's youth live in confusion and oftentimes, despair. I have a hard time trying to imagine the life of someone shuffled around for profit, our system fails the vast majority IMO. I feel for young people when I see the pain and obvious discomfort that is in plain sight. I lived with a suicidal mind for many years, when I see anyone living that hell I do all I can just to be present and available, it is a terrible experience often hidden by shame and guilt for the ideation think nothing of an attempt. I remind myself, and others, "this too shall pass", unfortunately for many that concept cannot be factored in for one reason or another. I have learned that one way to take care of yourself is to offer your hand to your brother and sister. Best.