The tour of duty ended.
But for the soldier, the fighting doesn’t end. The fight against memories of war and death, of the horrors of atrocity. That war, that fight, is far from over.
That fight occurs on an invisible battlefield- the mind and soul of the veteran. The veteran’s wife or husband and their children are not only witnesses to the battle but its unintended victims. They become the targets of anger or torment, the students of depression, anxiety, melancholy- what we have come to call post-traumatic stress disorder.
The collateral damage of war widens, encircling the children of the veterans.
Veterans’ Children is the first community and support organization to uncover and address the consequences of living with the trauma familiar to generations of veterans’ families- from World War II, Korea, Vietnam to our present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our purpose is to serve as a resource for healing and a forum for sharing stories.
15 May, 2013, 3:52 pm
“In the more immediate term, the military needs to decide what, and when, to do in terms of deciding when it will change the criteria. The Army already relaxed its PTSD criteria in April 2012. But more needs to be done. To do right by our troops, the view from here is that both the Pentagon and VA should embrace the new criteria without delay.”
17 April, 2013, 7:08 pm
Look closely into your family history. Was your father a veteran? Your grandfather, aunt or uncle? Everyone has a veteran in their family. That relative, no matter how distant, connects us now and always to all veterans. We are part of a web of mutuality. We can help heal just by listening. Just by listening.
This is our sacred duty.
Come listen.
4 February, 2013, 5:05 pm
This article, from Friday’s New York Times, describe the value of veterans turning to writing. And just as it can be valuable for the veteran, so it can be for veterans’ spouses and children.
