“In a sentiment that’s often shared by many other combat veterans, Pecci noted, “The darkness we speak of is not the darkness everyone else sees. Ours is more of a dusky haze that clouds our emotions. It’s a spirit that can take us from contentment to sadness in a heartbeat. It can be brought on by most anything. And it often is.”
He added, “So when we speak of this, we speak of memories and a broken spirit, a darkness that seals our souls up for a time. Sure—we will snap out of it and return to what we call ‘normality’ for a while. But what we have been through is a life-changing experience. When you see the blank look or the tear, when you see the silence that has overtaken us,” he advised, “just realize that this is the darkness we speak of.”
He said that from time to time, people will ask him, “When were you in Vietnam?” He said that no matter how many years have passed since his service, his answer always feels like it should be, “Every day.”
“Please don’t think that the things we say are just a robotic reply to gain attention,” Pecci also said. “We’re not looking for sympathy — just understanding. And if you can’t understand what we mean, then just walk away. That’s a privilege that we as veterans don’t have.”
Pecci also told Fox News, “I hope my comments help those who have misunderstood us. I also hope it helps all those who have been there and ‘get it.’ For those who have served and ‘been there,’” he said, “I want them to know that you are not alone.”
Thank you for your service, is both robotic and profound – depending on what part of the speakers soul it comes from. Thank you for your service, vets. You said yes, when others said no.
Deap,
It is an inane slogan created by GWB’s handlers when his WMD lie based war in Iraq damaged his and the Republican’s credibility, and poll numbers.
Whenever anyone “thanks me for my service”, I always respond with “that’s ok, they paid me”. It’s usually a conversation ender.
Bill Wade
I tell them “I didn’t do it for you.”
I tell them it woul be better to just say “Welcome Home” to the next vet they see.
Leith
Were you spat upon?
When I asked JJ Why He went Back To Viet Nam..After He got A Glass Eye and a Steel Plate in His Head…The Navy SeaBee Chief Said..”Because Thats where My Team Was,,”and Thats Why They stayed..and Froze..and Starved.And Fought…and Died…From Valley Forge..To Viet Nam..to every OutPost and Duty Station Today…All I Can say about That..Is I admire and Love ALL of Them..The Crack in Our Liberty Bell..is To remind Us…How Frangile Liberty Is.. Thier Service..and Sacrfices are
BOND That Holds Our Nation Together…and Keep Us Free..SST
It seems that times of great suffering estimulate human being sublimation through art…
It is this way that, in spite of the loses and suffering, you seem to have had one of the best soundtracks ever….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEdvyBkYQx0
Love that music…
In his latest book “The Dying Citizen”, Victor Davis Hansen identifies the stages of historical citizenship -pre and post.
“Post-citizens means the power brokers of ages who seek the dilution of privileges conferred by citizenship.
……..By the 21st century: anonymous bureaucrats whose authority to abridge the rights of citizenship is vast and often incontrovertible; lawless judge for whom the US Constitution “evolves” in tandem with their own political views; and transnational elites whose allegiances lie always with “humanity” or the “planet” and never in the country that enriched them.”
(WSJ-Review)
NB: for those who complain Trump did not do enough or was ultimately a one-shot failure, one must concede Trump started breaking up the hegemony of …. lawless and partisan judges….. who for too long have dictated the parameters of our lives and expanded the extent of government control over them.