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Sunday, November 11, 2012

30 Years Post-War, Johnny Suffers From PTSD


Some 30 years later, Johnny was stricken with PTSD due to memories from the mortar attack on his tank.

One evening in the mid-70's, he was driving home, and when he glanced in the rear-view mirror he saw the orange, glowing setting sun and flashed back to the fireball from the German A.T. gun that blew up his tank.  He panicked and had to pull over and spend a few minutes to regain his composure.

After that, the flashbacks of that attack kept recurring, as well as other memories from the war:  the shooting, the men falling dead, the days as a prisoner of war and the men next to him,  dying.

After suffering with the memories for several months, he went to the Veterans Administration and they provided counseling and support. He continued the counseling for several years to help him cope with the horrific memories from the war.  He eventually volunteered to take calls from a suicide support hotline.  He didn't find out until later, but one of the calls that he successfully encouraged to seek medical help was one of his relatives!

What an amazing man, that he turned his own crisis suffering PTSD to a life-saving _____.

Happy Veterans Day, to all who served!

We appreciate you!

Love,
America

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