Not unless you hold ‘em on Desolation Row.
Don’t throw veterans
an Iraq victory parade
By Colby
Buzzell,
After all, the Super Bowl champion New York Giants got one this
past week, complete with 30 tons of confetti falling from the Manhattan sky.
…“We simply don’t think a
national-level parade is appropriate while we continue to have America’s sons
and daughters in harm’s way,” said a spokesman for the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.
“I’m
not all that concerned with parades, not in a big city or a small town, at
halftime or any other time. What concerns me is the day after the parade, the
day after the Sept. 11 anniversary events, the day when the flags are put away
and America stops cheering and it’s back to business as usual. That’s what
scares me.
“Less
than 2 percent of Americans serve in the military, and for them, a parade would
be just another superficial acknowledgment of a sacrifice that has not been
shared and certainly not celebrated. Some people argue that it’s a way to show
support for the troops, some argue that it’s premature since there’s still a
war in Afghanistan, and others argue that Iraq and Afghanistan are different
fights.
“While
all this arguing is going on, veterans are struggling. In this country, an
average of 18 veterans commit suicide every day. The jobless rate for
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is as high as 15 percent. They are trying to find
work despite having been labeled ticking time bombs, unable to assimilate back
into society, plagued with post-traumatic stress.
“Later
this month, on an evening like any other in America, nearly 70,000 veterans will spend the night on the street …”
Cassi Creek: We woke up to find blowing sleet and snow at
0600. Gloria decided to stay home rather
than to drive into Johnson City for a class on engraving. We have been treated to falling temperatures,
more snow, short intervals of blue sky, and 15-20 MPH winds from the NW. We had planned to dine out tonight but Gloria
isn’t feeling up to par and we’ll celebrate the occasion another day. Instead, we’ll hunker down and let the wood
stove do the heavy heating, as much as possible. That will require a series of trips outdoors
to bring in large, cold, segments of former trees to convert into heat and
ashes. The dog is happily stretched out
in front of the stove, moving only long enough for me to add fuel before
reclaiming her space.
The purpose of a victory parade seems antiquated now. We are no longer actively waging war on our
home real estate, we conquer and keep no ground, expending lives in order to
occupy it temporarily as if doing so will change the attitudes and behaviors of
those shove aside. We hope it will, for
we know it matters all too little back in the world where IEDs no longer serve
as traffic signals.
Perhaps 2% of our populace now has shared the commonality
of a barracks and weapons in our hands every waking hour. The rest have no idea that a parade marks a
transition, a change of command, honors afforded to a comrade, or other symbolic
event. The end of continental or global
wars deserved a parade to mark the end of those wars and to honor the troops
who took entire nations and held them long enough for new governments to be
established. But those reasons no longer
exist except in the reality of soldiers, sailors, and airmen. The military leadership knows that the world
has changed diametrically since the late days of 1945. Ideological control of nations now replaces seizing
land masses.
With the change in why and how we fight wars one would
expect a change in how we treat our troops.
But it has become easier for the masses that no longer serve to also no
longer recall. Mountain View Veterans’
Affairs Hospital began its existence as a home for men who fought the civil war
and then wound up homeless, jobless, and of no use to society. We no longer make pretence of helping our
soldiers who saw too much. There is no
public concern for the “shell-shocked,” “battle fatigued,” or those with PTSD. They are expected to absorb the cultural and
emotional shock to their minds and bodies and to pick up their lives at the
point where they hopped off the civilian routine and into the meat- grinder of
modern combat.
Some of us manage to return to civilian life and to become “normal”
and productive. Others find that the
return is not as easy or as complete.
PTSD can hide for long periods, surfacing, creating havoc and discord
before being shoved back under for another genie in the bottle existence.
During a recent physical, I mentioned to my primary care
doctor at VA that I wasn’t sleeping well – something that was a marked change
for me now. She ordered consults and I went
to the appointments. I’m sleeping better
again most nights. There’s no way to
decrease the shoulder and neck pain that is a partial cause of my insomnia.
Unlike many VietNam veterans, I’m fortunate to be sleeping
indoors, eating regular meals, in a loving marriage. I spent most of my life after VietNam working
in a technical job; retiring only due to work-related injuries. I have no addictions, and I receive regular
medical care.
I’ve lived with PTSD
for 44 years now. No parade, no free
steak dinner in San Francisco, no amount of ethanol and war stories in a VFW
bar would have prevented it. The
military is beginning to realize that everyone who serves in combat is going to
undergo some degree of PTSD. The Joint
Chiefs are correct. It is not time for a
parade. It is time for Congress to
understand that they authorized the conflicts that are going to tear another
generation of troops apart at the hidden seams.
They need to quit allowing lobbyists for Halliburton and other
profiteers to drag us into wars. They need
to value our steadily diminishing numbers of men and women in uniform as the
heroes the truly are.
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