Papa came home from the war broken, as he was wounded in the European theatre. He tried to be normal, got married, built a house, fathered six children, but life at home wasn't easy. He was injured again in a work related accident that finally put him on the disabled list and life was always a struggle finacially, mentally, and so on. Papa was never much of a talker, and dealing with children and all their woes and angst was not a cup of tea he should have ever consumed in the state he was in. Friends, family, neighbours all classed him as a drunk and never really stepped up to help. His children were messed up at times and he didn't handle this well or sometimes not at all. Gramma was everyone's hero and the boss. She did it all, as well as she was able, keeping six kids in line, managing on little or no money at times, cooking, cleaning, etc. She never drove a car or ever owned a cell phone.
Life was often not roses. The children would act out as children do and find trouble, as our youth often do. Writing cheques their bodies can't cash. Product of their up bringing or nature of the beast? Two of her children are divorsed, one became a teenage mother and widow, and is the spouse of an abusive husband. My aunts and uncles seem to find their way through, but things are showing in the next generation. My brother and I followed Papa's legacy and both suffer from physical and psychological problems as a result of our service. It has left us both broken. I have two cousins that have spent time in jail. I have two cousins, brothers in fact, that tried to commit suicide, one succeeded. Who's fault is it. Well we all make choices, but Veterans were pretty much left to their own devices and I think the government could have done a better job of helping Papa and his family.
How? You called it shell shock, so you knew what it was. We sent boys to fight mad Men and expected them to come home and be normal. Papa was nineteen, hard infantry, and the people of this country asked him to go from walking around each day with a rife and then come home a hold his baby son and be normal. How is that working out for us?
Today I learned the victims of PTSD that took their lives are not to receive the same benefits as Veterans who have not. The children who have lost their parent to PTSD will not be receiving scholarships to continue their education. So they are saying, mom or dad has to get shot or blown up in order for their child to have a future. Hello, they still lost a parent. Plus a lot of these funds have a lot of money in them, so it doesn't make any sense to me. Just makes me angry and sad that history can repeat itself over and over again. Are we that dense?
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| We knew to always have tissues in our pockets on Remembrance Day. |
