• ZMonster@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Yeah, that’s the part that keeps me up at night - the knowing or not of the unknown dead. I know that not everyone that dies from war dies neatly and at the war. And I know that we were only able to account for a body if it was present and discernable. So I don’t know if the estimates are correct or not. But I’m in therapy either way. Mental health is stupid.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Well I do want you to know you’re not alone, I’m in therapy too. I was in the 101st for OIF 1. And yeah this shit is distressing. For me it’s the people blithely excusing war crimes we bent over backwards to keep from committing.

      • ZMonster@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Fuck me. See? This is why I stay my ass out of the VFW. The last thing I need is a shared experience. 😂 We wear the same patch on our right shoulder battle.

        And you’re spot on. I think it was a hard thing to rationalize that we went there to help. I mean, “we” thought we were helping. I still don’t know. Either way, you deserve self-empathy friend. Also ketamine. It helped me a lot! 😄

        Good on you for making it through the last two decades too! I would gander that we have all gone through some degree of self destruction, and I know some more than others. Keep your chin up and your head down. Don’t drink and drive and if you swim take a buddy.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          At least in the VFW I can use my worst coping mechanism. But yeah, the one consolation I think our generation gets is that we really did remove a murderous sociopath from running the place. Everything else is murky but that’s a shiny bit. You keep your head up too.