Veterans Corner

Community Contributed

By Jesse Church

Aloha all my fellow veterans and residents of Molokai, old Jesse here with all the veterans news and upcoming events. There has been a great deal of talk recently about the movie “American Sniper,” and the true story of former Navy Seal Chris Kyle and his tragic death. There has also been much said about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the last month or two, and the difficult time that combat veterans go through when they are faced with transitioning out of the military.

I’d like to talk about PTSD and get your thoughts about it as well. PTSD is something that I believe all combat veterans have experienced to one degree or another. I think everybody’s brain works differently and some people can handle the stress of war better than others. I think in “American Sniper” they are not so much talking about a sniper but are trying to show veterans as willing to help another veteran. In his mind, there is a battle if he can better do it by staying in the combat zone picking off enemy combatants, or by coming back home and working with veterans suffering from PTSD.

You know that PTSD is something that is relatively new to the VA. It wasn’t until after the Vietnam War that you started to hear the term. It was very difficult to try to prove the condition to the VA or that a veteran was suffering from it. Finally in the early 1990s, the VA began to except PTSD as a medical condition that veterans were suffering from, after veterans, along with the help of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, were able to convince them of it.

So veterans, please let me know how you feel about PTSD. I’m sure that we have veterans here on Molokai who suffer from the condition. Can we help these veterans? Would you like to see a support group set up of veterans to meet weekly or monthly, just to be able to talk about things that are bothering you or on your mind? A group like that could be set up on Molokai. So please contact me, old Jesse, at 553-3323 and let me hear from you on these questions and just maybe we can help our own.

Old Jesse is in need of a file cabinet if you happen to have one that you no longer use and would like to get rid of. Please give me a call and thank you in advance for your help.

I have a question for everyone this week: What military band composer was the “March King?” The answer will be in the next Veterans Corner column.

To all our active duty service members, veterans and the people of Molokai who support them, I send you all a big mahalo and I hope you have a great week. If anyone has any questions, suggestions or news, please contact old Jesse at 553-3323. I continue to depend on the information you give me to write this column. Remember that old Jesse loves you all, so until next week, aloha.