Some of the responders have made some noises about how we combat vets should just sort of "man up" and get over everything - but they have no idea what effects are caused by putting young men into an environment where one small wrong move, one bit of inattention means immediate death or dismemberment.
Our country goes through phases where they appear to understand that turning young people into weapons and placing them into long periods of elevated risk will have effects. Most of the time, no: we are supposed to just fade into the woodwork and not bother them with our changes. (Which is better than some of the attention we got - remember all those awful movies and TV series that featured the "crazy Vietnam Vets". Guess everybody was disappointed that we didn't suddenly erupt into violence).
I had the privilege of meeting with many Marine and Army veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan while they were hospitalized for wounds at Bethesda and Walter Reed. They are the latest in a long river of the permanently affected for their country and I hope they will always be treated better than we were after our war.
‘That’s funny! You’re absolutely right: my favorite hobby always has been sailing because it is so relaxing. I never put it together before you mentioned it..’
That is funny. One of the best times of my life, too, was living on this lovely ketch (the Ann Marion) in Dago in the late 90’s. Sailing down the Ensenada or up to Catalina are treasured memories.