He served in Vietnam and in doing so, it changed his life. At the young age of 19/20, he was sent to the jungle to kill or be killed. He never talked about it much until one night driving home from a game dinner in Bristol R.I.
We were both in the back seat and in the front was a older man who had fought in World War II and he was telling us about some of what he saw which included piles of dead bodies.
I don't know if it was the few drinks we had or the stories from the front seat but my brother-in-law started to talk about one night in Vietnam when he was in a canoe type boat and he was floating down a river in pitch black with a fellow soldier not knowing what was around the corner and if they would be shot at.
The World War II vet has since passed and my brother-in-law, now in his 60's, suffers from the effects of agent orange with a bad liver and other medical problems as well as mental.
Listening to both of these veterans on the ride home gave me a much deeper appreciation of what they saw and what they live with every day.
Years later, I sat with the son of a lady I work with who went to Afghanistan and was shot in battle. He too did not talk much about it but started to relay to me the story of how he and his platoon were on a mission and he described the intensity of the moment.
He is now home and continues the healing process. He too was 19/20 and I could see in his eyes that he was changed for life.
A thank you may not seem like much but what else do we have to show our veterans that we care and we that will never forget?
They certainly will never forget and they carry it with them every day.
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
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