humbled

[danjam]

A long time has passed since I visited this site. I was brought back by a meeting at a family gathering.

I have moved to the USA. I was attending a Bar mitzvah in NJ and I met a man that I was humbled by.

I was sitting in the bar of a hotel with my uncle and a friend of his with some distant family members, one of was in a wheel chair.

A quietly spoken man, who is a physiologist for people that suffer with post traumatic symptoms. He was asking me about my service in the Israeli army, and I was answering with as much detail as I could, and then I realized that his age and the way he was asking questions, that he was quite familiar with "army" stuff.
He served during 1968-69 in Vietnam and was injured by a tank mine, having his two legs taken off above the knees. I am sure that those of you that know know that very few people with this injury survived, and that this man is one of them.
After verifying this, (his brother was there with us) I admitted to his brother, that I felt embarrassed to talk about "my experience”. I made sure that to all those present at the table, that my experience is no way similar to his, and felt humble to talk to him, I thanked him for his service (I know he served America, but he is family) and told him it was an honor to talk and to meet him.
He was not a professional soldier like many here on this forum, however I felt a man like this is truly a man of respect and glad that he survived and that he was helping other people who suffer from the shock of war. I forgot that he was in the wheel chair and saw ... well damnit ... a hero. If I was half the man he was I would be happy.

Sorry ... just cannot forget that kind of meeting easily.

p.s.
The statistics of survivors of amputees above the knees are shocking. Apparently approximately 450 amputees survived the war and only around 150 are still living today. The exact numbers were lost on me; however this just reinforced my feelings.

[hoepoe]

Hey DanJam

Great to see you here.

Thanks very much for posting that, humbling indeed.

Stay well friend

Hoepoe

[Gypsy]

How very nice of you share your experience, thanks danjam. So many unsung heroes all around us...

You posted that you've moved to the US...welcome!

[danjam]

Thankyou.
I am in Colorado for the time being (Longmont).

Back on subject. I was horrified to learn that when "M" came back from Vietnam, and was in a wheel chair, that he was slapped and spat on. My g-d what scum walk this earth.

[Gypsy]

'Tis disgusting to say the least danjam, I'm sad to state that far too many of our Vietnam Vets were treated very, very poorly to put it mildly.

Please do me a favor and tell your relative I said "Welcome Home" and offer my thanks for his service...and his sacrifice.

[Huey14]

I think that all the countries who particpated in RVN treated their troops like crap, perhaps with the exception of Korea.

Our guys were landed in the Hercs in the dead of night while they changed into civvies. When they got off they were told not to tell anyone they had been in RVN or that they were in the army. The usual spitting, name calling, et al happened too. It's a shame that I can refer to it as "the usual" because it happened so often.

It wasn't until 1998 that they finally had a homecoming.

Disgraceful.

I think you were very privilged to meet this man. I always feel lucky in a sense when a war veteran opens up a little and tells a story.