Semper Fi Parents

Today I spoke at gathering of Semper Fi parents. I opened by saying that Semper Fi means "Always Faithful." This would be a good oath for the American public towards it veterans. There was a strong military presents in the room with a Marine Gunnery Sargent who spoke about the Iraq War and gave various reasons why people should be honored to be involved with the Marines.
I spoke about PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. There were several parents in the audience that had lost sons in the Iraq war. I had a number of conversation with parents that asked me to sign my book to a son in the war or recently back from war. They were concerned that their kids were suffering from PTSD and wanted to where help was available.
This was a sobering experience for me, its been a while since I'd been in a room with so many Marines and there need to justify what they were doing and had done was palpable. There was an undertone of pain and loss, but to touch this would have left parents and Marines with a feeling that the sacrifices were perhaps in vain, so the tenor was kept positive and patriotic.
I do honor those men and women who offer their lives to protect our country, but I do not honor the turning of our heads from what they have been asked to do, and our expectation they the become who they were before the left. Healing and forgiveness need to be primary elements for the recovery of the traumas of war, not the bowed out chest and the lifted chin and the Marine stance of bring it on.

Be Well

Larry