Blast From the Past

So, I took my father to go see the movie "American Sniper" yesterday.  Not only was that movie amazing, but it definitely possesses the ability to transport my mind to days of the past.  Plus, another great thing about the movie was it did not just focus on the shooting and killing of war and glorification that most Hollywood films radiate.  This movie also focused on the personal and emotional toll that war takes on the individual and their families.

As he was going through some of his firefights I could almost hear the whiz and crack of rounds impacting stone.  Luckily, there were few people in that theater that could truly relate, but you could tell the ones that had been there.  You could see the emotion in people's faces when you knew that something was replaying in their minds.

It is amazing how your mind can trap an event and replay it for you in gory detail over and over.  You can smell the same smells, hear the same sounds, and see the same images as if they were happening in the here and now.  But it is just a memory, just something that happened in your past.  So, how can it saturate your mind now and never be watered down with time?  How can a memory be so real so often?

Just like Chris Kyle many Veterans go through the same thing and see the same results.  Families are alienated, spouses are frustrated, and children are confused.  Maybe with this big push for awareness and movies like "American Sniper" PTSD can finally get the attention it deserves.  When it is all said and done us Veterans have to live with the things that we did and the things that we saw.  Some saw very little and some saw more than can be understood.  Either way, all Veterans that have actually seen combat will have seen more and experienced more than 99% of the population!

So, the next time you judge someone for being an asshole and write off his dismissive remarks or demeanor; maybe you should consider where he has been and what he could have been through.  Maybe people should do a little research instead of just assuming that all people in the military can just flip the off switch when they are back home or out of the military.  There is NO OFF SWITCH people, God flipped it into the ON position and then ripped the switch out of the wall making it irrepairable.

Inside every Veteran is the person they used to be and that person can come out quite a bit.  However, there is the person that they were, the person that needed to survive, the person that saw horrific things huddled inside that comes out every now and then.  That person will forever be ingrained in our personalities and our attitudes.  You know why?  Because we have seen and done more things than you ever will and we did it so that you did not have to!  So, be thankful that WE are the ones dealing with the images and sounds of our past and treat your loved ones like me with the respect due.  We took that bullet for you and take it every single minute of every single day.  You rest easy as we awaken in night terrors and soaked in sweat!