War and the broken hearted…
Kimo has been taking a course on Joint Professional Military Education. I of course enjoy the benefits of debating er I mean discussing much of the content with him. One of the last modules he was studying for the class was on Psychological Health. I was so moved by the Theater of War performances and discussions. Take a look. It is worth the 10 minutes out of your day to glimpse into the soul of a warrior, whether he be of the ancient Greece era or current. My heart breaks for the plight of families and military men and women affected by PTSD. There are a lot of tough things about military life. War and deployments certainly rank at the top. But the return, reunion, and following months and years prove to be among the most trying times for many. \”Theater of War on YouTube\”
I remember the first funeral I attended with Kimo. It was of a fellow Marine who had returned from Iraq and took his own life. I sat in a little white chapel on Camp Pendleton gazing at the flag draped coffin. Listening to Taps being played. And sobbing. I did not know this young man but my heart broke for what he must have experienced and what his family was currently going through. I looked around the church and saw countless handsome men and beautiful women in uniform all holding back tears. Since that time five years ago it is with regular frequency Kimo learns of yet another suicide of a colleague, friend, or acquaintance. I think of Kimo and two men whose families are our dear friends. One has a Purple Heart after being shot in the chest and is returning to Afghanistan in November. All three are fathers who returned home from war to read bedtime stories to their children, tuck them in at night, and endeavor to distance the harsh realities of their job from their family. Remember the Jim Carrey movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”…. sometimes I wish that were possible. To erase their memories of combat. Perhaps they would prefer to not have them erased. Perhaps they are now a part of who they are, what they have done, what they have witnessed. Perhaps on some level the memories will forever serve as a reminder of what they are willing to do in the name of life, liberty, duty…
So it is late and my thoughts appear to be all over the place. Hopefully you watch the Theater of War clip and feel compelled to post a comment. I would love to know your thoughts!
That brought tears to my eyes. It’s hard to imagine the challenges and sacrifice that military personnel and their families go through.
Give each other a hug from me with my thanks for your service and sacrifice.
I remember when I was in Kosovo and was helping “pick up the pieces” of this little country (deployed with US Navy for 9 months). I took many pictures and found great pleasure in the ones of the small children playing in bombed out buildings and using cardboard to sled down the stone street in one of the oldest villages. I also smiled when I was told by some of the Kosovar Albanians (Muslim) how they were so happy their children had the “opportunity” to be able to go to school and study without being afraid of being kidnapped, tortured, killed – or coming home to their home being blown up and the corpses of their family there. The reason I really smiled is that they understood these things we take for granted as a rich blessing and opportunity – so much they didn’t grumble about the 3 shifts of school a day since there was only 1 school still standing. The older children started the day a 0600. The last group ended at least 12 hours later. The teachers endured all 3 shifts!! Oh wait, they relished the opportunity to teach all the shifts and earned a whopping $10 or so a day if they were lucky. They taught children who often had no books and they would occasionally pitch in to get a couple extra that these children could share. And then each and every one of these people and the children would smile and say to every US Soldier & Sailer (I was 1 of the 2 on our base) faleminderit shumë – Thank you very much in Albanian. I found the experience heart breaking at times and yet, so amazingly wonderful I almost wanted to stay. I only hope Iraq and Afghanistan can have some of this hope Kosovo has. I came back with a warmth of the Kosovar people and little patience with us Yanks that gripe about the little crap.
Being the father of a son in the navy I know he’s seen and done things that I will never know about. Some things too horrifying to talk about and some things he just doesn’t want me to worry about. I hate that I can no longer protect him. He has absolutly become more closed off and I know there are things he needs to talk about. I just hope that the things he can’t share with me he can share with his military family. Great video.