Soldiers and July 4th

[Barb Bouldrey]

The question entered my mind today....."Would soldiers recently home from Iraq enjoy fireworks?"

The last time Stephen served a year in Iraq he heard gunshots every day. He tells of driving 60 miles an hour down the road and hearing bullets whiz by his head. When he was home on leave he ran up the stairs with eyes wide and asked with a frightened voice, "WHAT WAS THAT????" The toilet lid and slammed down and it scared him.

Thinking about July 4th and remembering how he liked to shoot off bottle rockets and fire crackers made me stop and wonder if he will ever enjoy the sounds of the 4th of July fireworks again.

He has 3 more months to go of his second year in Iraq. He is restless and not sleeping well. I am not sure he would enjoy fireworks this year if he were home.

Barb

[Donna Adams]

Good thoughts and questions Barb. I sure hope Jed doesn't get that close to the bullets flying. MERCY!
Freedom really isn't free is it?

[Jennifer Brake]

If I remember correctly...Jed's previous chaplain served a yr in Iraq with the 100th 1st Airborne when the war first started...and he still cannot go see fireworks. He took his family to see some last summer, and he and his grandson sat in the car and fell asleep while the family was out enjoying them.

[Billy Cox]

I once happened to hear a story told by G. Gordon Liddy. In the story, he takes a WWII German machine gun to a shooting range and the sound of that particular gun causes trauma for some nearby WWII veterans.

I don't know the timeframe on the story, but I would guess that one never forgets the association of such a sound.

[William Hunter]

Barb, the startle response for a combat vet will very due to other life experiences of the vet. There were several sounds when I came home that caused me to duck, take cover, attempt to get very small, etc. Virginia can tell you that I can tell the difference between civilian and military choppers by the sound, and most of the time get the type of chopper correct. The sound of a military chopper still gets all my senses at peak alertness. There are a couple of others, too. Also, it was about 3-4 yrs. before I could handle fireworks, though now I enjoy them except for those concussion explosions. They cause me to want to find cover though I am able to control the physical respones now.

I still have trouble with gun shots. When I came home my brother wated to sight-in his new 30-30, so we went to a place to do that. I had my 30.06 and 22 to target with. When Mike fired off a couple of rounds I found that I could not handle that. I told him to go ahead and I'd just wait in the car. I broke down my guns, put them in their cases, and gave both gunds to my brother when we got home. I have not been around guns since and have no desire to me.

If Stephen has been in or around much combat, he will come home with a few things that startle him. How long anyone of those lasts depends on the vet and his life expereinces.



The question entered my mind today....."Would soldiers recently home from Iraq enjoy fireworks?"

The last time Stephen served a year in Iraq he heard gunshots every day. He tells of driving 60 miles an hour down the road and hearing bullets whiz by his head. When he was home on leave he ran up the stairs with eyes wide and asked with a frightened voice, "WHAT WAS THAT????" The toilet lid and slammed down and it scared him.

Thinking about July 4th and remembering how he liked to shoot off bottle rockets and fire crackers made me stop and wonder if he will ever enjoy the sounds of the 4th of July fireworks again.

He has 3 more months to go of his second year in Iraq. He is restless and not sleeping well. I am not sure he would enjoy fireworks this year if he were home.

Barb

[Judy Hamilton]

I can do fireworks now...and the ohhs and ahhs and the music with the fireworks show helps maintain a sense of reality...i am aware they are fireworks. I still think the grand finale of a firework display sounds like an ammo dump exploding.

Shannon and Tom live close to Coronado Island Marine/Navy Base where helicopters are always flying over on their glidepath..this bothers me a great deal..and they have trouble understanding their mom

Judy

[Bruce Carriker]

My brother (Vietnam, 1965-67) has no interest in fireworks. At first, they bothered him. I'm not sure they bother him now as much as he just figures he lived without them for so long, what does he need them for now?