how has any war affect you? for veterns only!!?

Question

i would like to know how the any war has affected you and how you view life now.

Answer 1

I came back from Iraq with PTSD. However I am now retired and living a pretty much normal life. The thing that really affects me is all the people who want to flush everything I did down the toilet because of politics.

If we pull our troops out of Iraq and leave them feeling that they could have won had they not been betrayed by the American people - what will happen the next time you need them?

Answer 2

I am a VietNam veteran and served there from Feb-November 1969 with the 101st Airborne.

The way the war affected me was how horrific and intensely violent it was and what high velocity rifle bullets, mortar and artillery shells and rockets can do to the rather fragile human body. It was a kill or be killed scenario and the only person you could depend on was yourself and your buddies who were next to you.

Seeing friends die was something that always stays with you, and is a life that is never lived, unfilled potential, dreams never realized.

I served because it was my duty to my country to do so (I was a draftee) never mind if the war was right or wrong, it was MY duty.

After the experiences of being in combat, I had nightmares for about 10 years, sought help for them with the VA but that didn't help as post traumatic stress wasn't a recognized disease at the time but I did finally made peace with my demons. I never again took life for granted, you in fact savor it and you really do appreciate the small joys of life, no matter how simple because you are alive.

I hope I have answered your question...thanks for asking it.

Answer 3

I was in the first Gulf War. When I came back I was very nervous which made me short and rude to people. I was (I found out later by reading) hypervigilant-- always checking my surroundings for possible threats.

This lasted about six months and faded away.

One thing which has lasted: I no longer worry about small stuff. I have been in peril of death, and so now the little irritants are to be shrugged off as part of life. I tend to prioritize problems more in order of "what's the worst thing that can happen", which means that often I'm not at all worried about some things that are driving my friends and neighbors mad. I consider that a "plus", by the way, and if I had to go to war to get it, then it's a good thing I went.

Answer 4

It jammed my priorities in line. Seeing the Iraqi people and the life they had been forced into under Saddam, it really put freedom into perspective. People here who complain of a lack of freedom have no idea. It really opened my eyes and gave me more appreciation for my life.
It definitely shortened my temper and has made me more of a control freak in ways....I don't handle a change in plans very well.
It did show me a lot about myself, both bad and good. How you will react to immediate danger - questions most people can ask and never really know.
All in all I am proud to have served and will be proud to serve again (most likely later this summer)
I hope that being a combat veteran has made me a better American, better husband, and will help me be a better father...that sounds weird - but to know what freedom is worth really opens your eyes.
also, I don;t watch war films anymore - or very often. I used to love them, now they get to me. I find that I have more of an emotional attachment to bravery and sacrifice.

Answer 5

I comprehend what you're asserting. while in basic terms a small share of individuals are battling and the main media materials report in basic terms "war lite," that's straightforward to sense indifferent from the excellent element. in spite of if or no longer you comprehend human beings interior the defense force, besides the fact that, faster or later this war will ripple into your very own life because of fact that's costly. in accordance to a pair estimates, the war in Iraq will clock in at 0.5 1000000000000 money with the help of the time that's throughout, and that's offering we get out in the subsequent couple of years. via the years, you will start to sense the end results of the war via a loss of public centers and a regularly occurring disintegration of infrastructure. Your roads won't get repaired, your city will downsize its police stress, hearth branch, EMT centers, etc. Your great-grandchildren will nonetheless be procuring Iraq and if issues save going as they have been, america of a that they comprehend would be plenty grimmer than the placement in which you presently stay in such mushy indifference.

Answer 6

There is a commonality of experience for those who have served in war, whether in Vietnam or more recent military actions. The particularly intense combat characterizing the Iraq war--the daily urban fighting, the suicide bombers and the guerilla tactics of insurgents who blend into the general public--creates an extra layer of stress that takes its toll on a soldier.

War is a life threatening experience that involves witnessing and engaging in terrifying and gruesome acts of violence. It also is, for most military personnel, a patriotic duty to protect and defend their country, their loved ones, and their values and way of life. The trauma of war is the shocking confrontation with death, devastation, and violence. It is normal for human beings to react to war's psychic trauma with feelings of fear, anger, grief, and horror, as well as emotional numbness and disbelief.

Answer 7

Child, I have been a vet in the Vietnamese war for 2years. It affects me in all ways of life. When I wake up, going to work, or going to sleep, I feel a phsycological impact, and a physical impact to my daily life.

The year was 1967...
I have going on patrols in SE Asia, one fellow patroler has been hit with a grenade when on "S.A.D" missions. I was walking aside the road of highway 6, when a buddie of my platoon steped on a riged grenade. It exploded, I was hurt in blast and my fellow soldier was killed. I couldn't hear for a week.

After I left the hospital, I could see the scars of my sharpnel from the grenade, when I type, driving, and while working. I had nightmares, sometimes when I go to sleep. I get a little jumpy while waking up. I served another term of year on duty following the incident.

War is a terrible thing, and I give out my empathy to every U.S soldier in Iraq they are going through.

Answer 8

There isn't a day goes by I don't think about those I couldn't save.
For them I enjoy my life and grateful for each and everyone of those who have gone before me.
At the end of April I will be going to my Dad's WWII unit since he is gone I go as reminder and say thank you to those people.

I know without a doubt this land has its problems but it is far better than anything else out there.
Something I wish more people here would understand.

Answer 9

I'm in Nam today, as much as i was 38 unbelievable years ago. I am Nam. (not the country...but the incident.

It is the WRONGNESS of that war that keeps me there.

Why? Why are we Iraq??
But the insidious WRONGNESS of this war! Can anyone not smell the stink of this war? The LIES. Can anyone not hear the world crying to America, "STOP IT!" "Act like humans."
Can anyone not see the disgrace of our bullying. Why Iraq? What did they do? What!!

About four years back from the war. Our guys will begin to know like I did--"I'M not like you, and you will never be like me. I know something horrible that you don't." And they will re-hash the sights, the stinking lies they lived, the un-godly sounds. And they will be there forever.
They will think forever, "It was all me, I am WRONGNESS.
And I don't know.

Please stop.
Please, its ok now. Its that simple.

Answer 10

just coming home from Vietnam, I travelled with two to three hundred dead on the plane. When I see dead and wounded, especially as seriously wounded as most are, I have panic attacks, flashbacks, and nightmares.

A very good friend of mine has been asked by his psychologist who is treating him for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder not to read the newspapers, books, or watch the TV news because of what it is doing to him.