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Flashback City

loboloco

loboloco

Well-known member
Doc, not sure if this is the right thread, but its damn sure serious.

For the Vets out there, how do you deal with the flashbacks?

I usually don't have them, but occasionally I get them. Drinking eases the pain, but nothing makes them go till they feel like leaving.

Some of the memories that haunt me:

Walking through a village after the poor starving bastards have been fed poisoned rice(thank you Food Aid, you sorry bastards)

Watching a horse charge against modern APC's. But God, what glorious brave SOB's they were. The sounds after. Guess a horse crying in pain hurts worse because they didn't know any better.

Little girl in a flower print dress, stepping between the tango and the round. damnit, she was only about 13.

A buddy laying on the ground begging one of us to shoot him. Trying to hold his guts in, waiting to die.

Firefights in the night.

Running scared, chased by hundreds, not able to stop. Shoot and run. Day after day thru night unending. No food, little water, using weapons and ammo off the enemy dead.

Am I crazy? Or just paying the price?

Don't really expect an answer, just lit enough to write it out.
 
You're not crazy darling, not at all.
Dunno, but I think this is the first thread ever to be posted here bringing up this subject.

Hopefully, you'll get some feedback.
Love you my friend. Don't ever forget it.
 
Thx Pg. Sometimes I wonder if the price of living is too high. Don't mean I want to do anything stupid, just wonder.
 
Maybe it would be nice to know it mattered. The price I and my buddies paid seems too high now.
 
loboloco said:
Maybe it would be nice to know it mattered. The price I and my buddies paid seems too high now.
Click to expand...
IT mattered, they mattered, you matter.
What you've experienced I think is something unimaginable to most, unless they walked in your shoes.
Let the thread flow..
I hope you make some good friends on here who like you, lived through the worst, did your time and came out of it alive.
 
I hope so Pg. Too much the historian now. Bothers me how people piss away what we paid for in blood.
 
I can close my eyes and see the twin 20's spitting fire. Hear the 40's rapid firing . Feel the butt snug into my shoulder as my .50 counts coup. remember the beauty of a HAHO and the hell we met on landing. Backed against a pass, nowhere to go, stand or die time. We fought for our buddies, for the spirit of liberty. For a piece of paper that no longer means anything. But it was the world to us. We fought, we bled, we killed, and some of us died in the name of that piece of paper. Brotherhood yes. Flag yes. But over it all, that little piece of paper and the dream it stood for.
 
Even today I cannot listen to a covey of quail take off. Sounds too much like the Russian light mortars. firecrackers, as long as I know they are being fired, don't bother me. Love the sound of a pistol or long arm if I'm on the trigger. Pyro or quail can really cause a bad reaction.
 
loboloco

1st off thanks for serving!!!

I worked with a guy 20 years ago that had the same issues you are having.

My son and a few of my scouts were in in the last 10 years I was worried about them they all came home with out any effects.
As a volunteer fire fighter my self the stress debriefings we have had helped me some of the senseless carnage I had to deal with.

I came across this site doing some research on post combat stress

http://www.ptsdsupport.net/combat_stress.html


good luck

tom
 
Best wishes to you lobo. I served but my time was spent on a ship as I was afraid of ending up traipsing thru the Vietcong delta. We sailed into Haiphong harbor when it was mined in the spring of 73. Saw some wild stuff in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore but nothing like what you must've seen. I feel extremely lucky that I did not have to do that.
The flashbacks sound horrible. Does the VA have counseling of any kind available ...there I would think you could talk to others with similar issues. If not official therapy a visit to your local VFW might be very beneficial to you. Talking to others with similar experiences, who have been there and understand can make all the difference in the world.
Keep us posted.
 
I have no words of wisdom but I do thank you for your service. That war was milestone in time that most will not see again. I'm sure there are some from Iraq and Afghanistan that have similar experiences but I suspect they aren't quite as raw or prolonged as you experienced.

I'm sure it's good for you to talk about it - probably best with others that went through it with you.
 
My dad from the Korean war still today has flash backs. He also had a nervous break down two years in and was honorably discharged.

A friend of mine from Vietnam was dropped in a hive. Out of 100's dropped only a few got to the ground alive. He was one of them. He has the flash backs so bad that he spends a lot of his time in a special home.

I don't have any help for you but do thank you for your service. I wished more could be done.

Thank you
 
loboloco said:
Maybe it would be nice to know it mattered. The price I and my buddies paid seems too high now.
Click to expand...

Hey ! It Matters ! It mattered to me then and it still matters to me now . You hang in there . I salute you sir .:smile:
 
"Thank-you for your service" are words said to Vietnam vets way too seldom. On that note, from me to you, Thank-you!

You fought in a war that was unpopular to the point that the servicemen and women weren't appreciated. As you're well aware, many were not received back home well at all. Many of your comrades-in-arms tried to hide their service history, bury the memories,and so forth. Your forebears in WWI and WWII came home to parades and the honors deserved by folks who've served. Not so for your generation. A travesty at the very least!

I cannot help you with your flashback issues. I do sympathize with you and wish I could understand what you saw, experienced, and are now dealing with.

I do hope you find the help you deserve.
 
Thx folks. Most of the time I am okay, but every once in a while, something triggers flashbacks. Today I am okay. I stay away from the VA.
Vietnam wasn't my war. I was involved in peace actions under Reagan, Bush and Clinton.
God bless the boys of Vietnam, they had a really bad time. Mine was just a minor nightmare in comparison.
 
hmmm, so what war/conflict are your flashbacks from? Somalia maybe? :confused:
 
Doc said:
hmmm, so what war/conflict are your flashbacks from? Somalia maybe? :confused:
Click to expand...
Doc, I spent 21 yrs in 15 different countries. From Angola on down. Managed to get shot at in 11 of them. Unfortunately, while I can discuss in general terms, times and locations can't be revealed.
 
loboloco said:
Doc, I spent 21 yrs in 15 different countries. From Angola on down. Managed to get shot at in 11 of them. Unfortunately, while I can discuss in general terms, times and locations can't be revealed.
Click to expand...
Interesting and intriguing for sure. Best wishes for finding relief from the flashbacks or simply finding a way to keep them from happening.
 
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