Worth a Read.
The Galloping Beaver: The Abyss
From the first time a comrade drops like a sack of potatoes and never gets up, to the first time you watch a bullet from your rifle tear into the body of another, spreading flesh and bone over a narrow arc, any glory that might have been associated with being a warrior vanishes. There is no glory. There is only a lifelong regret and a wish that things had been different. I know now that those who preceded me wished that they were the last generation to ever have to go to war. Their hope was that the human condition could change and war could be made obsolete. That was my hope too. It was not to be. We have sent yet another generation of young men and women off to become permanently scarred with first-hand knowledge of war. In time they will return and those who have had to experience the worst war has to offer will pay heavily. They will experience the dismissal of their difficulty to deal with the turmoil in their minds and the humiliation of having to try to beat back depression, anxiety and a simmering anger. They will look into the abyss and, as a so-called enlightened society looks on knowing nothing of what agony exists in their minds, wonder what lies at the bottom.
2 Responses
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon your blog, but I’m glad I did. Your quote from, and link to, “The Abyss” promted me to write about something I needed to get out. Thank you.
You’re welcome, D-Man. For me, it was watching my brother-in-law deal with PTSD. I think of how many kids we’re sending home from Iraq right now with huge problems, and my heart breaks. And even more so with how many kids are not coming home, or coming home with other severe injuries.
And today, how many will suffer from the Virginia Tech shootings. So sad, so senseless. I wish we had a better attitude towards mental health in this country, and made it easy for people to get help when they need it.