Saturday, August 23, 2008

Trying to fit in

I am trying to find solace in a place of mental anguish. I have become friends with other PTSD sufferers but still I don't seem to fit in. Maybe it is of my own making, though. I have heard stories of heroism that you will not see on network news. Soldiers that have come back from fighting a war that they believe in. I, too, believe. The traumatic brain injuries, the loss of limbs, the loss of innocence. They are all hero's to me. The camaraderie they share with each other is beyond any alliance I have witnessed. Yes, I, too, am a veteran. I served my country during a time of peace and I still feel I am intruding into a secret society that I don't belong. Combat Veterans. Young men barely out of high school with the eyes of men twice their age. They have seen more than a man of any age. To be thrust into combat with training that will never prepare a soldier for what is to come, what they will witness, what they will lose but, most importantly, what they will gain. The respect of other veterans that have not been, or seen, what they have seen. Have not felt what they have felt. Have not lost what they have lost. Have not sacrificed what they have sacrificed. I am with them, yet, apart from them. They have my respect regardless of their ages. I thank you all. theblogmeister