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Discussion » Questions » Military » War takes a terrible toll on VETS long after they've come home. Some end up homeless/in jail/divorced.Could you take it?
RosieG

War takes a terrible toll on VETS long after they've come home. Some end up homeless/in jail/divorced.Could you take it?

Some end up physically abusing their families. Live with PTSD. Have nightmares. Can't hold down jobs. Keep reliving the memory of seeing their friends blown up.  It is a terrible price to pay for serving your country during time of war on the battlefields. Do you know any vet whose life has never been the same who struggles just to survive day by day? Just to say "thank you for your service to our country" seems woefully inadequate.

Posted - November 12, 2017
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Responses


  • 6988
    My father, WW2 combat vet never talked much about his years fighting the Nazis. He was proud of his comrades in his division. However, he told mom that he never actually killed anyone, he said he always shot over their heads. I guess this helped lift any guilt he had. He claimed that the Bronze Star medal he was awarded was partially from his action assisting a sniper. He had really good eyesight so he helped the sniper locate targets. ( the enemy) 
      November 12, 2017 7:05 AM MST
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  • 113301
    Wow bh he was VERY lucky. If he shot over their heads what if they shot him dead on?  Did he ever see any of his buddies killed? So many guys come back maimed for life.  They get a limb blown off or damaged badly. I just wonder  how someone who has experienced seeing the very worst happen right in front of his eyes can ever get rid of that image? Thank you for sharing that. Do you think you could ever have done something like that if the draft had never gone away? I know I couldn't. Well I'm a gal so it's different. Gals are expected to be brave warriors. Some are for sure but I don't think they are EXPECTED to be that. Oh boy. Anlother question. See how it works bh? It drives me nuts sometimes! AARRGGHH! :)                                                       
      November 12, 2017 7:13 AM MST
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  • 7280
    I wonder how many American soldiers were killed or wounded by the enemy soldiers he chose not to shoot.




      November 12, 2017 8:08 AM MST
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  • 6988
    NONE. The enemy was too busy running away and ducking for cover. I might add that father was wounded in all this action and helped liberate a concentration camp. They don't give out Bronze Stars for doing nothing. 
      November 12, 2017 9:49 AM MST
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  • 7280
    There is no way that you can be sure that the answer is "NONE."

    If your father said that he "shot over over their heads" during the war, then he refused to engage the enemy.  

    If you were a police officer and had a partner that promised to shoot over the head of anyone who attempted to kill you, would you want him as your backup? 
      November 12, 2017 11:05 AM MST
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  • 135
    So even if your father was not actually killing the enemy, he was having another do it for him, so how the fcuk did that ease his guilt? Do you realise that his comrades, his squad, his platoon, his company, his battalion, his army and his country were carrying dead weight, he should have stayed at home, at least that way he would not have been a liability to all on his side, which he most certainly was.
      November 12, 2017 8:34 AM MST
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  • 22891
    no, and thats why i never signed up to do it
      November 12, 2017 3:53 PM MST
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  • 5835
    A remarkable number of WW2 soldiers avoided shooting the enemy. Germans didn't have slanty eyes or sloped heads or even funny clothes. They looked just like real people. And ground troops avoided shooting them. 
      November 13, 2017 3:59 AM MST
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  • 1326
    It is against human nature to take another life. For this reason anyone going to war will come back scarred for life.
      March 29, 2018 10:40 PM MDT
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