July 16, 2018. Eureka Springs, AR. The March of Time

In life, things happen and we are surprised because we never would have dreamed that such a thing would ever happen, and never would have thought it would happen to ME. The list is endless of such happenings happening to us and yet it is far more common than we think. All of us can relate countless incidents where we would never have seen ourself as the object of such an incident.
Every time Karen and I go to the VA for me to receive medical care, it is always in my mind how I would never have imagined, in my wildest dreams, how I would be receiving virtually all of my medical care over the past 9 years from VA Medical facilities in Colorado, Wyoming and Arkansas; that most of our income would be from disability payments from the VA for exposure to Agent Orange while in Vietnam; that my military service of less than two years would have such a profound impact on our life now.
I was drafted into the Army in October, 1968 and sent to Fort Dix, NJ in November for Basic Training, not knowing what was ahead of me. I remember training there and later at Fort Sill, OK with a bunch of other young men, fit and strong, not knowing where we might be sent and what we might be called upon to do. And then, for some, off to Vietnam and experiences which would impact us all in ways we could never have imagined. Now, I look back with very mixed emotions about that time, look at the men now being served at the VA for a host of injuries, illnesses, emotional and physical ailments and I see bodies crippled and broken, minds altered and influenced by what we saw, what we did and what we have had to endure for the last half century. I see other vets from other times and conflicts and what the years have done to them. It's hard to remember those fit and strong young men and what the years have done to us.
I'm so grateful for the treatment I have received from the VA. I'm sad when I see others who have been disappointed with their treatment, and I'm saddened by the reality that many vets and their families didn't even know they were entitled to treatment or compensation of any kind, and therefore, received none. I wish there was a way now to right all the wrongs of the past, to give care and compensation to all who are entitled to it. But, I pray that in the final tally, all the wrongs will be righted, that God will reward everyone for what they did and that the sufferings of this life will find an eternal peace and rest in His presence. Time will heal the hurts and it is God whose timing we rely on for that healing, now and forever. Thank You, Lord.
Sent from my iPad