Tuesday of this week in my country, the USA, was Veteran's Day (also celebrated in many other countries as Armistice Day commemorating the end of World War I on 11/11/1918). This week I am thinking about my grandfather, a Naval Officer in World War II who came home with PTSD and bought a bar to have a place to self medicate, because back then no one really understood PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). He eventually got sober and help. I am gratified that in 2015 we understand more about PTSD. Yet, as a country and culture we still are not fully seeing and treating WWII vets in nursing homes who were never diagnosed but are still having nightmares. We are not fully seeing and treating Korean War Vets who were never diagnosed but whose spouses, children and grandchildren feel the effects of their unhealed trauma. We are not fully seeing and treating Vietnam Vets who are living on the streets because their PTSD was never acknowledged and treated. To the vets from the first Gulf War, and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, may you be fully seen and treated by our medical systems, by our political systems, by all of us who spend a day thanking you for your service, but sometimes fail to remember you live with what it means to be a Veteran (all the positives and the struggles) every day of the year. Blessings to Veterans of my country and all countries, may you be fully seen.
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May 2021
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