NOT ALL WOUNDS ARE  VISIBLE TO THE HUMAN EYE!

There are things in life that affect us
As with soldiers who have fought in war
The experience is hard for us to forget

Some came back home shaken from the war
Some never got back to their families
Some made it home with terrible wounds

In all these cases many have long suffered
The families of those killed suffer greatly
And grieve for the loved one taken from them

The survivors suffer with the physical wounds
That are a constant reminder to them for life
They deal with the loss of limbs and the pain

Some were very lucky or so some people tell them
Although they may not have been wounded in action
And they appear to be healthy to those who see them

I say not all wounds are visible to the human eye
There are thousands of walking wounded from our war
Their wounds too are just as real as those physical

They've suffered as much as those with gaping wounds
But their wounds were hidden deep inside and unseen
Many have dealt with these type wounds for decades

Those physically wounded were treated and healed
Some were given new legs, arms and hands to cope
They have overcome those terrible physical wounds

And yet there are thousands who suffered trauma
Their wounds unseen or treated for some 40 years
These wounded are now finally receiving treatment

They have held in their great pain and suffering
They have tried to bury those experiences deeply
The mind never forgets and reminds them nightly

These wounded have learned to sleep very lightly
As a deep restful sleep allows the nightmares out
And once again you relive that trauma over again

The horrors of war play like a never ending video
The explosions, the machine guns chattering loudly
And the pure terror of trying to reach your bunker

You are suddenly back in Vietnam under mortar fire
Your heart pounding wants to leap out of your chest
And your body was slammed by the concussion blasts  

You prayed to Jesus to let you survive this night
The shear terror of just one round was bad enough
Some nights we had taken some 30 rounds or more

The aftermath could be as scary for us to deal with
We thought it was over and came out of the bunkers
They'd fire in a few more rounds for good measure

  


© Terry Sasek - Always A Warrior - all rights reserved.



In the forty four years that have passed since my tour of duty
in Vietnam, I've dealt with many issues that hadn't always been
evident to others. I had tried keeping things buried deep inside
of me, but then I started having medical issues determined to be
related to the chemical sprays used in Vietnam. The ingredients
that were in the sprays used would become very debilitating and
deadly to many of us and would cause many medical issues for us,
many like myself are now slowly becoming crippled as a result of
my heavy exposure to the dioxins that were part of Agent Orange
herbicide spray used in Vietnam and it has been attacking our
nervous systems ever since our exposure to it. After many years
of fighting battles with the Veteran's Administration, I've been
awarded my permanent disability status after the VA officially
determined after 42 years that I was indeed suffering from my own
service connected and related issues from my service in Vietnam.
It was also determined that I had Chronic Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder and that many of my current medical issues that I have
had to deal with were in fact caused by my heavy exposure to the
deadly dioxins which were a byproduct of Agent Orange. The VA had
determined that the evidence they had gathered during 6 years of
testing had proved to them without a doubt that the majority of
my physical disabilities were indeed caused due to my exposure to
these deadly chemicals and that the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
that I still suffered from were absolutely caused as a result of
my own service in Vietnam. I was then awarded a full and permanent
service connected disability pension and as a result I'd be paid
at the 100% level of disability from the VA for life. After that
they gave their findings to the Social Security Disability Office
for a ruling since my company had thrown me out after 28.5 years
because my disabilities were hindering my capabilities on my job
and after reviewing the findings from the VA they also awarded me
my Social Security Disability pension which is separate from my
military disability and was based on my total earnings over the
42 years I had worked after getting out of the military and the
funds that I paid into the Social Security Administration during
my working years. Now finally after 44 years of dealing with all
of the issues that were related to my own military service, it's
become painfully obvious to not only myself and my own family but
also to my friends that there have been many unseen and unspoken
issues from my own choice to serve our nation and to defend our
freedom and that of our allies It is also now obvious to them
that not all wounds are visible to the human eye.

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