Combat veterans' wounds never disappear

[frogcycle]

Veteran's Day, 2006:


Combat veterans' wounds never disappear
Oakland Tribune, Nov 11, 2006 by Jonathan Jones

Army Pfc. Michael Balsley*, a soldier in the 3-61st Cavalry unit, is his father's son.

The 23-year-old is said to walk and talk like his father, 59- year-old James H. Balsley. Beverly Balsley, James' wife and Michael's mother, said Michael likes to explore and stay active just like his father.

And like his father, he enlisted in the armed forces out of his love for his country.

"I think Michael has the same personality as I have, to a degree," said James Balsley as he sat across from an old photograph of his son dressed up as a soldier for Halloween.

"He kind of looks at the world differently. He sees himself as an average guy (who's) going through life."

About a month ago, Michael Balsley said goodbye to his father and headed to Iraq to serve as the commander's eyes and ears on the ground, going on reconnaissance missions and tracking insurgent movements.

Before he left, the military father and son from Hayward exchanged a few words. His father told him he loved him and that he'd see him when he comes home.

But one statement Michael made before he left slightly troubled his father.

"He said, 'I want my own war stories,'" James said. I think he was looking at war and combat like it is in the movies. I'm sure he doesn't look at it that way now.

And although its clear that James Balsley is extremely proud of his youngest son, as a Vietnam veteran, he's cautious as he talks about war.

When the whole thing is over, people forget about you, said Balsley, his voice full of both pride and bitterness. Maybe not right away, but four, five or six years later, there is a tendency to forget about the veterans.

In contrast to Memorial Day, which primarily honors the dead, Veterans Day is a time for honoring living veterans who have served - - and currently serve -- in military.

For many of those who serve in combat, the horrors of war end up creeping into their nightmares after they've returned to the United States and readjusted to civilian life.

During the Vietnam War, James Balsley described his tour of duty as hours and hours of boredom, split between seconds of terror beyond belief. He lost 40 to 50 friends and fellow soldiers from his unit.

When he returned home, the battle lines had been deeply drawn between those who supported the war and those who wanted the troops to be brought home immediately.

I was called a baby killer and spit on, recalled Balsley. Once, he said, he grabbed the throat of an anti-war advocate and had to be separated from the man by a police officer.

He just took me home, Balsley said.

Today, the wounds still run deep. He gave up drinking 16 years ago. But sometimes he hears gunfire. Other times he thinks he hears helicopters and people yelling. And he still believes the United States lost the war because the American public and lawmakers in Washington lacked resolve.

But those battles are over. Now he makes it a point to embrace any veteran he meets, personally recognize their service, and say, Welcome home.

And if someone responds the same way to him?

Its very personal, he said. Because thats the welcome we never got.

Days after voters sent a resounding message for change in direction of the war in Iraq, Balsley said he has detached himself from the wrenching debate. But he has comforted parents who've lost their sons in Iraq.

And even though he likened Cindy Sheehans anti-war efforts to those by Jane Fonda and chastised the media and civic leaders for what he sees as half-hearted efforts to recognize the troops, he hopes that one day war will end and people can go about the business of peace.

But my fear is that its only going to get worse, he said. Were only going to see more violence.

He credits lawmakers like John McCain, who served in Vietnam, for advocating in Washington, D.C., on behalf of wounded soldiers.

Time will tell whether combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, including Patrick Murphy, and Joe Sestak, two newly elected Democratic congressmen from Pennsylvania, will do the same for a new army of veterans when they return home from combat.



*Pfc. Michael Balsley was killed Jan 25 when an IED exploded near his humvee

[twylatharp]

1. Breaks my heart

isn't it time to stop killing our young people for the rich?

[TomInTib]

2. The Box

Once upon a time, in the land of Hush-A-Bye,
Around about the wondrous days of yore,
They came across a kind of box
Bound up with chains and locked with locks
And labeled "Kindly do not touch; it's war."

A decree was issued round about, and all with a flourish and a shout
And a gaily colored mascot tripping lightly on before.
Don't fiddle with this deadly box,
Or break the chains, or pick the locks.
And please don't ever play about with war.

The children understood. Children happen to be good
And they were just as good around the time of yore.
They didn't try to pick the locks
Or break into that deadly box.
They never tried to play about with war.

Mommies didn't either; sisters, aunts, grannies neither
'Cause they were quiet, and sweet, and pretty
In those wondrous days of yore.
Well, very much the same as now,
And not the ones to blame somehow
For opening up that deadly box of war.

But someone did. Someone battered in the lid
And spilled the insides out across the floor.
A kind of bouncy, bumpy ball made up of guns and flags
And all the tears, and horror, and death that comes with war.

It bounced right out and went bashing all about,
Bumping into everything in store.
And what was sad and most unfair
Was that it didn't really seem to care
Much who it bumped, or why, or what, or for.

It bumped the children mainly. And I'll tell you this quite plainly,
It bumps them every day and more, and more,
And leaves them dead, and burned, and dying
Thousands of them sick and crying.
'Cause when it bumps, it's really very sore.

Now there's a way to stop the ball. It isn't difficult at all.
All it takes is wisdom, and I'm absolutely sure
That we can get it back into the box,
And bind the chains, and lock the locks.
But no one seems to want to save the children anymore.

Well, that's the way it all appears, 'cause it's been bouncing round
for years and years
In spite of all the wisdom wizzed since those wondrous days of yore
And the time they came across the box,
Bound up with chains and locked with locks,
And labeled "Kindly do not touch; it's war."

[Luna_C_06]

6. Very creative, and sadly true, poem.

Did you come up with it yourself?

[TomInTib]

14. It is not mine

But I wish it was

[TahitiNut]

15. I remember that ... a John Denver album?

Poignant.

[frogcycle]

16. theme song

War!

[AX10]

3. How true.

[UTUSN]

4. Tell me about it n/t

[TahitiNut]

5. "I think he was looking at war and combat like it is in the movies."

Even the "anti-war" people do that. It's not what we don't know that's our problem as human beings. It's what we think we know that's completely wrong. Comprehension of what it's like cannot be gotten second-hand. More ... it's a very lonely, solitary experience ... unique to each person. And there's no applause ... no audience ... for what happens inside. None.

"He gave up drinking 16 years ago. "
Funny. Me, too.

:cry:

[Cabcere]

7. I can't even imagine

what war must be like, so I feel a bit hypocritical posting about issues like these. But this story - and yours, TahitiNut - break my heart. :cry: I have never been to war, and chances are that I never will, so I don't know (and probably never will) what the circumstances are like, what sacrifices have to be made, and how it feels to be in life-threatening danger and to lose friends to acts of violence and war. I don't want to trivialize the sacrifice and the reality and the experience of those who have been to war, and I know my words probably sound hollow and contrived, as I'm sure they must be as one who has never fought. But even though I haven't "been there, done that," my thoughts and prayers are always with our troops, and I want them to come home safely and soon. :cry: :patriot:

[TahitiNut]

9. Please ... don't let it "break your heart."

I think that's important. I don't know a single vet that wants that. Not one. I sure don't. I've never met one that wants to be seen as a 'victim' or an object of pity or a 'hero' or anything but another human being. There's a whole lotta meaning in the word acceptance. It doesn't mean comprehension or understanding or even agreement. In the final analysis, we're really lucky if we ever meet another human being in our entire lives who we really come close to 'understanding.' Lots of us spend our lives just getting to understand ourselves. At the bottom, underneath every other motive, expectation, or aspiration, every veteran I've ever known merely wanted to do some service to his or her country - people. A country isn't dirt; it's people. 'Service' hopefully means surrendering much of one's own liberties so others might keep theirs. Sometimes, like during Viet Nam, those 'liberties' might merely have been so someone else didn't get sent. Yes ... there is an expectation, too. It's expected that just that - that honorable service - might be respected. It's not what anyone did or went through. It's just the service. It's really not rank or medals or anything else. Just doing what every one of us wishes would never have to be done. Maybe someday we'll get there - but until we do, someone's going to do it. It shouldn't be the poorest or the slowest or the most foolish, imho. Ideally, it'd be all of us, imho. If anything, maybe that'd keep folks from seeing veterans as "the other" - some strange, broken, less than complete human being. We're not. Even disabled vets are still able - and it's those abilities we must respect and support. It's the least we can do. We The People dishonor ourselves when we don't. It has nothing to do with pity and everything to do with respect. For ourselves, at a bare minimum.

[frogcycle]

10. What a profoundly well phrased comment

Thank you for taking the time.

May I ask a favor?

Pfc Michael Balsley will no doubt have an online "tribute" page, as do most of the Fallen.
Please visit and pay your respects. I am sure his dad will be reading it, and hearing from other vets could help a little. I'll add the link to my website as soon as it shows up.

[TahitiNut]

12. I'll be glad to. Thanks.

I suspect his political views are opposed to mine, but I respect his service and have sympathy for his horrible loss.

[frogcycle]

13. Exactly

This is not about politics


Someone posted a venomous hateful message in response to the newspaper article yesterday about his son. I wrote the reporter saying get it off. I can't believe newspapers throw open 'comment' threads and then don't monitor them.

[ShortnFiery]

8. And the Nightmares come less often but

at least for my dad and older brother, they never really stopped. Well, it stopped for my dad who died a year ago. Before he died (brain aneurysm), he told me,
------------------
"Those German soldiers never did anything to me personally, but I had to kill them in a split second or they'd have killed me. All I remember from that sniper's nest is looking down on a young German boy, no older than 17 y.o., and only hearing the thuds of his helmet roll down the hill. I'll never forget that, it made me sick. Everyone around me was dead (3 German Soldiers) but I cried out, "What did you ever do to me!"

The Army gave me a Battlefield Commission for it. They lavished me with praise but it wasn't nothing special, only my quick reactions and good marksmanship from hunting rabbits on the farm."
----------------

Further, my father made a point explaining how phony the citation was written up to make it sound like most of their company was scoping out this sniper's nest and everyone was working in concert. Instead it was true chaos. Further it merely stated that there were many men there but that Dad (a staff sergeant then) had taken the lead. He was awarded a Bronze Star but also a Battlefield Commission which he maintained until his retirement in 1960.

What was most important to me was that, for the first time in plain language, dad stated that there's absolutely no glory in war. That the most horrific experiences were those of artillery barrages where NO one has control. And finally, that survival on the battlefield had far more to do with luck, not skill. :shrug:

After all the hell that our Combat troops see and must do to survive and keep their buddies alive both our government and society should treat them kindly and I think we, as society are making an effort. Perhaps when men get older, the good ones take stock in their life and see that war is truly senseless. :shrug: That realization helps them make peace with themselves.

Too bad that far too many combat vets will commit suicide or drink themselves to death before they can achieve the maturity and wisdom that often comes with age.

We must rally behind our veterans on a community level. Provide our support and a friendly smile. It's very difficult to transition from combat service to civilian life. We must help them and their families adjust for them as fellow human beings and for the sake of nurturing healthy communities. If we don't assist them, it will be reflected in very "horrid ways" within our society, i.e., crime, homelessness and increased poverty in general.

Nope, I concur from what I've been told by people who know, "Combat is not at all like the movies." :(

[frogcycle]

11. cross post

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=59681&mesg_id=68076

[krispos42]

17. "I think he was looking at war and combat like it is in the movies."

We all do that, at least those of us that have never seen combat. I am in that large group of 'never served'.

The problem with the movie view is that it is always SOMEBODY ELSE getting killed. We all think WE are the guy that survives at the end. Like Private Reiben, the guy with the BAR in Saving Private Ryan.



Or like Bruce Willis' character "John McClane" in the Die Hard movies.



And that is not, regrettably, true a lot of the time. It was not true about 3,100 times in this war, 58,000 times in Vietnam, 36,000 times in Korea, or 400,000 times in World War Two.

[frogcycle]

18. There is a common sentiment among military professionals

that their mission is to be ready for war in order to avoid war - or something to that effect.

I grant that the militaryindustrial complex Ike warned us about is pro-war; it needs war to make money. War is it's constituency. That is where the warmongers are. And yes, the word "military" is in the name, and the military is part of the equation. But I don't buy the idea that any significant number of the chain of command are yearning for combat. They know what it is like.

And while there is evidence of military complicity in funneling money to the big "DoD Primes", such as the appalling case with the Israeli anti-RPG weapon, I believe that corruption tends to be in the procurement section, and in many cases more a matter of lack of due diligence than true complicity. It is far easier to issue a no-bid contract than to go through the arduous competitive bidding process. In wartime, with urgency to get supplies to the troops, it is easyu for a mid-grade procurement officer to just cut a check to a Blackwater, then cut another check when they say "we need more" than to hold their feet to the fire to validate where the money is going.

It only takes a few people in high places with an eye on a cushy executive position after their retirement in a few years to create an atmosphere in which these jackals get away with murder.
That is why congress created the cumbersome bidding process, and why there is supposed to be oversight. So a few get lured to "the dark side" and that is just enough to keep the whole thing going.

Any system needs constant monitoring and correction. No matter how good it is, those who seek to get around it will not rest; they will eventually find access points - loopholes - and exploit them. When Congress takes six years off while the executive branch trumps up a war, of course the hungry jackals move in for the kill.

The military establishment was just ripe for the plucking. With complicity from Halliburton CEO Cheney, and Rumsfeld in command, the good guys didn't stand a chance (Gates looks to be another lackey spin doctor. The change was just to distract us). They try to soldier on and do the right thing, and watch their guys getting killed with inadequate equipment, polluted water, inadequate numbers... damn it must suck to be a general these days. Not to mention being a grunt.

[krispos42]

19. Once in the developmental pipeline, they don't want to change

I'm sure the Raytheon anti-missile system for tanks has been on the drawing board for quite a while. It is probably a lot better than the Israeli system, and the Army is probably getting a real woody just thinking about it.

But now with this invasion thingy on, and an (apparently) unforeseen long-term threat, this whole thing just turned sour. The Army has the choice between buying a lot of expensive systems from the Israelies, which, by the time they get fully deployed, will be replaced by the contracted Raytheon system anyway, or they can use their allocated funds for other needed stuff, like those gel-pack helment liners and upgraded body armor or new vehicles or whatever.

If Rummy had had an ounce of sense, he would have started buying them as soon as Bush made his 2002 SOTU speech so that we would have had them in the invasion.

But the OFFICIAL POLICY was that there would be neither insurgency nor Iragi civil war, so stuff like uparmored Humvees, anti-RPG systems, upgraded body armor, and gel-pack helmet liners would not be needed against the waves of flowers being thrown at our troops by grateful Iraqis.

And you have stated very succinctly the corruption of the political/military/contractor relationship. Better than I could have done. I hope you write that in a letter to Congress.