Wounds of War 

     Vietnam. The war's unpopularity and messy ending (50 years ago) compounded the struggle many soldiers had (and still do) when they returned home. 

     They never trained for the aftermath of war. Glen Martin told WORLD magazine "In Vietnam we never had an exit. We didn't accomplish what we wanted to accomplish. All these 55,000 kids got killed, whatever, and for no reason." 

     Martin has battled guilt, shame, disgust, even anger, a response to what doctors diagnose as moral injury. Symptoms occur when people feel they did something or failed to do something that violates their deeply held moral or religious beliefs. 

     The authors of this article say combat veterans from every war experience moral injury, but Vietnam vets were especially susceptible. Five million Americans who served in the conflict are still alive. Thanks to awareness of moral injury and the benefits of faith-based therapy, vets from Vietnam and more recent conflicts are healing for their deepest wounds. 

Next: Moral injury is not new.

             Jimmy   ...PS. I'm certain many of the soldiers in basic training with me went to Vietnam. Back then, many of us were drafted, not volunteers.