June 3, 2006

entry for june 03, 2006 jun 3, '06 11:14 pm for everyone This is the picture of the ship I was attached to in the Navy. It was decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1999. I was aboard when this picture was taken. I downloaded it Memorial Day this year. On Memorial Day, we're supposed to focus, and remember those who gave their lives in service to our country, but I was thinking, hmm, well I was the suicide prevention/ drug and alcohol rep for this ship during the evacuation from Vietnam, and subsequent trials and tribulations. I witnessed a lot of guys who committed, or attempted to commit suicide because they had lost faith, or just couldn't see a way back home, or were scared, or just plain couldn't handle the stress and pressure. We should remember them also, for they gave more than they had available to give. they were broken, or bent severely by a situation they had no control over, or by things they'd seen or done that they couldn't live with anymore. These men sacrificed their lives every bit as much as those who died, and went there willingly, not knowing the price they were to pay for it. None of us knew the price. Almost all of us, if not all, have had broken marriages, broken homes, broken dreams, nightmares, restlessness, and broken lives. We've got an extraordinary amount of alcoholism, and drug abuse in our ranks, we tend to be distant with our relatives. Cold to our children. We are generally a bunch of hard men, because we had to be hard when we were still boys. Some have achieved remarkable success, some remarkable failure, but we all still stand shoulder to shoulder with the men we lived, fought, cried and died with. We will never forget each other, and as we age, we begin to understand why our fathers tried to stay in touch, because now, 30 years later, we are finally beginning to be able to find each other and share a little. So, for Memorial Days from now on, if you read this, look at the Veteran in your life, and realize there are emotions locked in there you will never understand, that he, or now she has seen, done and dealt with daily nightmares to keep us all free and safe. And we did it out of love! Love for our families, for each other, and for a nation that didn't, and still doesn't care one bit, and we'd do it again in a heartbeat, if we had to. That's the man you see when you look at me. By the way, tomorrow, the 4th of June is the 3rd Anniversary of my Dad's death. Just an additional note concerning that: I love you, Dad, and miss you very much ©F.Pierce 6/3/06