All
wars are the same, some military
experts
will claim—death, destruction,
collateral
damage, casualties with limbs
torn
away, shrapnel embedded perma-
nently.
On the other hand, there are dif-
ferent
types of war: My father and uncle
were
in World War II; I took part in the
Cold
War while stationed in Germany.
At
the same time, my fellow GI s fought
a
jungle war in Vietnam. Years later in
treatment
at the VA, I met another vet,
his
was a desert war in Iraq. His injuries
have
in part healed, though the scarring
remains
indelible. He is home now, and
has
gone through therapy to address
alcohol
and drug abuse, and a chronic
case
of PTSD. He sleeps his war-torn nights
uneasily
with a loaded automatic weapon
within
reach on the end table beside his bed.
Marcus
is living proof, all wars are the same,
except,
that is, for the hellish one you hap-
pened
to have gone through.
Chris
Hanch 4-19-19
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