jmcquown wrote:

> This brought tears to my eyes. I remember when my father returned from
> his second tour in VietNam. It wasn't a surprise but I was only 8 years
> old and I was thrilled to see him get off that plane. No matter what
> anyone thinks of any war, god bless the troups. Thanks, Stu.


I can imagine how happy you were to see him home safely after being away
for so long. Soldiers these days are lucky that deployments tend to be
shorter. My father joined the air force in 1940 and was shipped over to
England in the spring of 1941. He was over there for two years before he
could come home, and he would have had to stay longer had he not been
shot down over Denmark and managed to escape back to England. He was
given a one month leave and had to sail back.

His parents didn't know that he was coming home. The last they had
heard, he was still in Sweden and waiting to get back to England. He
didn't bother to call when he arrived in the city and just showed up
unannounced. His parents were thrilled.

My uncle was in the army and was shipped overseas in 1941. He fought his
way through North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Holland. He came home to
find that his wife had left him for another man. Four years of being
away from home and enduring hardships and privation... plus being shot at.

It's interesting that guys like this endured the horrors of war for
extended periods and came back, picked up where they left off and led
normal lives. Soldiers these days live with a much higher level of
comfort, have a much better chance of survival and spend relatively
short periods of time on deployment. They can communicate with their
families by telephone and email. Yet, a high percentage of them come
back claiming of post traumatic stress,even among those who aren't on
the front lines.