"Leave Not a Man Behind" (poem) >>> "War-Torn" Trailer ... a Documentary About Heroes & the Price of Heroism (100 Days of Poetry Challenge - Day #1)
Vietnam War 1967 - Soldier Helping Wounded Soldier to Safety by William Eggleston
A Band of Brothers.
Everyone can feel it. That camaraderie that is unique to soldiers, and which has no equal amongst civilians. People marvel at it. Poets write poems about it.
Recently, one of my posts was the subject of a Contest sponsored by @cryptogee. The contest was designed such that Cryptogee would massively upvote the best comments on my post. In my article, I included a quote from Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address:
On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.
In my article, I also mentioned:
On a trip to Washington, D.C., I visited the Lincoln Memorial. On an interior wall is inscribed the words of Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address. I'd read it before, but something about reading it there, in that setting, brought tears to my eyes.
"Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came."
There were hundreds of excellent comments ... and I challenge anyone to find another post on Steemit, irrespective of age, with better. The commenters came from all over the world. Some were fellow poets. But there was only one person who commented on the above quotation:
Once I got to the end of the article about you reading Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address, the tone shifted from comical to very heavy hearted for me. I was in the military for 10 years and spent the majority of it deployed away from my family in combat zones. I know the feelings that he felt as he wrote those words. My life has been impacted forever because of my experiences and I truly hope that my children never have to experience any of it.
The only other soldier.
A series of comments and replies ensued and I eventually ended up on his feed. There, I read the most profoundly honest and moving article I've yet to read on Steemit. It is an article about his PTSD ... Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (photo below)
Post-military, @derangedvisions has become a photographer and film-maker. In a DM on Discord, he mentioned that he'd made a documentary film, called "War-Torn," about a Vietnam Rescue helicopter pilot who also suffers from PTSD ... and, the incident that caused it. @derangedvisions sent me a 3-min Trailer (end of post). It was ... incredible.
The airing of "War-Torn" (Full Documentary) will occur on @derangedvisions' feed... This Saturday (March 10) at Noon EST
Both @derangedvisions and I are relatively new to Steemit. We do not have large followings, and amongst those that do follow, few are dolphins or whales. Will this documentary ever see the light of day?
I decided to do whatever I could to ensure that it does. I wrote the above poem, and embedded the below Trailer, and I've made This Post my Entry #1 in the Steemit School Poetry 100 Day Challenge (2,000 SP), which starts today, organized and sponsored by @d-pend.
Moreover, I will submit this post to every post-promotion channel to which I am subscribed and I will ask everyone I know to Upvote, Comment & Resteem it. @cryptogee, @old-guy-photos, @c0ff33a, @tattoodjay, and ... @enginewitty - you're the biggest guys I know, and I ask you to do whatever you can to give it a lift. And, I ask you do the same for @derangedvisions.
This is personal.
And I ask you, reader, to do no less. Watch the Trailer, read @derangedvisions' article (while there, read my comment) and Upvote, Comment, Follow & Resteem. And ... reserve some time this Saturday afternoon.
I leave you with a quote from @derangedvisions' article:
PTSD is being able to relate to your brothers and sisters that have been through similar situations as you. It is about not giving up and becoming one of the 22 veterans that take their lives every day. It is about being there for your family and being a beacon of hope for someone that is going through the same thing you are. PTSD is a badge of perseverance.
Reading Notes: Advanced
I am pleased that PTSD has come to the forefront ... I am a peacenik, Quill. And unapologetic about it. I wish war on no one and wish more people would come to understand that the human mind is not fit for war, violence, and prolong fear. Even if the physical battle is won, the war inside is not and it's brought home and visited upon the survivors and the next generation. The after effects of WWII are still felt today in Europe. War is so expensive and the costs continue to mount long after the physical fighting has ceased. The more people who understand the value of peace for our health and the sheer self-destructive nature of war, the better. I wish healing on minds that suffer.
@prydefoltz,
Pryde, I know you're a peacenik ... and that's fine. But you've studied a lot of history. Who do you think stands between peaceniks, and the wolves that would love to eat them for breakfast? Or, perhaps ... you believe there are no wolves? That you can preach the world into peace. Many before you have tried.
Do you honestly think you abhor war more than either of us do? With respect, can you imagine how silly that sounds to us? I mean no offense, as I greatly respect you, and know you to be sincere. And I mean that. But we've tasted it.
And, whether you like it or not, the wolves are out there ... and poets don't stop them. Soldiers do.
There's an ugliness about humanity that you're refusing to acknowledge. Humanity, as a whole, will never achieve the enlightened state you envisage. History's on my side.
You see the world as it could be, I see the world as it is. There is room for both of us.
PTSD does not just prey on soldiers. And I see the world as it is ... or I would not label myself a peacenik, I would have no need to. I would simply see only peace. The world is many things .... many, many things. What we nurture and promote grows. What we do not ... disappears. the world is always evolving.
The psyche is the result of what has come before. Nurture is much stronger than nature. Within any man or woman is the capacity for savagery or enlightenment. It depends on the teachings he or she receives, or the lack there of, and the environment she must respond to. As humans we far more control over our environment and what we focus on than any other species ever. Again the world is always evolving, humans have some measure of control over how they evolve. I do my best to take some measure of control over how I evolve and offer how I would like to see the world around me evolve.
By the way ... history is not on your side. The world is more peaceful than it has ever been. One is less likely to die a violent death than ever before, including from war. So history and how it is unfolding is most definitely on my side. Just saying.
Again, the world and human nature is evolving.
To the wolves ... honey ... I see them a mile away and avoid them. I teach what I know so that others may learn to do so and stop giving them power and perhaps give the wolves counselling instead.
The real difference between us ... is you see power in violence and I see failure, lost opportunity, and suffering. But now with attention given to PTSD, we are starting to see violence with a little less glory spit polish applied to it. I do NOT glorify war ... at all ... that may be the real difference.
We are all learning and so am I. What is true today, will not be true tomorrow.
But there is certainly room for both of us:)
I think the sad reality is that war in incredibly profitable. Those who control the money lend to both sides and make a hefty "commission" on war. They also just happen to own all the major media outlets, and donate large sums to our political leaders. So if real conflict does not arise, situations have and will be manufactured, that often result in war. If people do not begin to recognize this and stop falling for it, ceaseless wars will continue.
I feel very badly for those who have suffered physically and psychologically on both sides of the field. Its always seems that the pawns and knights are sacrificed for the well being of the kings.
Indeed ... there are a few behind the scenes that profit from war. I imagine the reasoning is ... well, if is going to happen, we might as well benefit from it. But it is a fallacy that war is good for the economy on the whole. It is not. War devastates economies. Countries are generally left bankrupt after waging war. Poverty stems from armed conflict and not prosperity. But profiteers will be profiteers. If we elevate the way we behave then they would have to find another way to profit. The pawns need to get smarter and not buy into fear and hatred. We probably would have a Starbucks on Mars by now if we spent more money enriching the human experience and not trying to end it for those we disagree with.
In my opinion it's a lot more than a "few behind the scenes." Most of the conflicts are created, so that we always have a war. The Gulf of Tonkin incident is a perfect example of this. It was the excuse used to invade Vietnam in the first place. But decades later due to FOIA requests, declassified documents prove that this "event" was a false flag. This is merely the tip of the iceberg.
I 100% agree that war is not good for the economy, perhaps in a very short sighted sense, but ultimately it erodes both parties. Leaving each one further in debt and and a infrastructure that needs to be rebuilt, this only encourages more borrowing of funds. If we want to see the true culprits of these wars, we need only look to those who lend out the money required to wage them. If we ever want peace these people are the ones standing in the way of it.
It is uncomfortable to ponder that such duplicity exists on such a large scale.
Agreed. This is their first line of defense, for few are able to hurdle it. Thank you for the dialog.
Darn it, @quillfire! You made me cry. I had read your poem a while back and loved it. Now I read your new post and watched the video in the end to find myself in tears, as it reminded me of my friend's parents who also fought in Vietnam. Her dad passed away last year. The mom is still alive in Ohio. I heard a lot of war stories from them. Up voted and re-blogged!
@lymepoet,
Thanks Lavi. This one's personal. I owe ya.
No worries about it. It's a great post. I loved the poem!
@lymepoet, stay tuned for Saturday at noon EST. I will be releasing my film on my blog if you want to watch the whole thing. I am glad that my video had an emotional impact on you. Thank you for taking the time to watch it.
I look forward to seeing it. Thanks and congrats on the release!
I'm fortunate enough to have never experienced first hand the catastrophic outfall of war, but also old enough to know the consequences run deep - not only to the families who lost loved ones in battle - but for those brave soldiers that fought and saw their friends, comrades and often closest confidants cruelly cut down. Dealing with death has to be one of the most challenging and difficult parts of anyones life, when it occurs so brutally and without time to mourn it is no wonder Post-traumatic Stress Disorder plagues the brave soldiers that were able to make it back from a war zone - alive but injured in many ways. I still struggle to understand why as the Human Race is supposed to be an advanced species, a complicated living organism - we still battle each other instead of helping each other. It's complicated, I understand that, but however much you might believe in a cause, a God or Deity - does it really justify taking other peoples lives to highlight it. It is crucial for me that people stop to think about the topic of this post, and also the video teaser and full release from @derangedvisions posts - because it is only by understanding what has gone wrong in the past that we can try to find a way to ensure it does not recur in the future.
@c0ff33a,
Wise words my friend. I really do hope people stop to think about it.
There is something ineffable able the subject, something that cannot be put into words. It is something that simply has to be understood. Many soldiers, if not most, do not like discussing war with civilians. It's not their fault, but they simply cannot understand.
One of the strange things, though, is that amongst the carnage, you see some of the most astonishing acts of human nobleness, and not just from soldiers. You see what people really can be, not just the ugliness, but also the beauty. We salute the wrong things.
I very much look forward to seeing the documentary. Thanks for all your doing, mate. I owe you.
Upped and resteemed. Great words and great trailer.
@old-guy-photos,
Thanks Paul. It means the world.
upvoted, resteemed.
Peace......eat all the syrup you want!
@snook,
Thanks snook. I owe you.
no, you don't. what you are trying to do is commendable in SO many ways!!!!!!!!
sorry for the short comment last night. I have been having a hard time, with life, the last few days......but saw your comment and the urgency of it so came to read your post.
I was blown away by all I have read and I already follow @derangedvisions and knew about the story he did but had not seen a new post from him yet.......but I have not 'been' on steemit much in the last few days so was very happy you brought it to my attention.
and now........I hope you did have pancakes and lot's of syrup this morning LOLLL
@snook,
Actually, waffles ... but with lots of syrup. I'm not sure if I'm feeling more brilliant, but at least I'm pleasantly full. :-)
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope it's nothing too serious. If there's anything I can do ...
Thanks again for your support for this Documentary. It's a good thing he's done and the story deserves to be told ... and heard.
This is a very moving and beautiful post,I just read his article and see what you meant. I really hope he gets to put the documentary out. And for my part the best I can give is an upvote and a resteem :) Wish him luck.
@ange.nkuru,
Thank you so much. It's very much appreciated.
@quillfire, you have no idea how much this means to me and the Veteran community as a whole for you to take the time to write that beautiful poem and to spread the word about Lynn Gillies' story during Vietnam. He truly is a great man and the message of the film is one that will not only help everyone understand what Veterans experience during and after combat, but my main goal was to be able to reach Veterans and anyone suffering from PTSD to know that they are not alone and that there is help out there. We have lose too many Veterans each day and if my film is able to reach one of them, or to help a family member know how to support their loved one in understanding their torment, then all of the work was worth it.
Thank you everyone for all of the support.
@derangedvisions,
And should you find yourself besieged,
The walls, a breach at hand,
Against your back, a back is pressed,
Alone, you will not stand.
... QuillFire
I'm a bit of a counselor by nature, for some reason people find me easy to open up to. While thankfully I never saw combat during my service, many of my friends and countless people I have meet had. Even though I have not experienced it first hand I feel as though I have tasted of this vicariously through the countless stories and broken personalities that I have witnessed. I don't think that many "normal" people can understand the depths these situations, events, and orders often wound a man.
The sad reality is the "training" is so effective that many of these men attempt to go through life denying that they have in fact been wounded, viewing such acknowledgment as a weakness. But it eats at their soul. They start becoming hateful to those they love. Once a man starts to treat those he loves with hate it's only a matter of time before he completely hates himself. My heart aches for these the most, as they are the lest likely to seek out help, before it entirely consumes and leads them to the only escape, which is suicide.
I hope that your film can allow some of these broken people, to honestly evaluate themselves. I also hope that it will allow others to see, how damning this condition can truly be.
@imjustsaying,
Thanks for the great comment. I'm sure the Documentary will help create perspective.
Oh my, I will promote this post in SteemUsa so more people will hopefully watch the documentary. Excellent work on your poem to go along with this post! Also have you joined SteemUsa? Do you use Steemfollower? That would be a good place for more people to see it?
@violetmed,
Thanks for your kind words. SteemUSA & Steemfollower ... I haven't looked into them yet. I've only been on Steemit a month and am still a bit overwhelmed by all the groups, but I'll definitely have a look. Any promotion would be greatly appreciated ... there's a lot of vets out there who need a bit of help with PTSD and I think this Documentary might do just that.
Haha, yes it is a bit overwhelming! @d-pend helped me figure out a lot of stuff on Steemit. Anyway, I did already post it in the Discord channel steemusa. You can also just use the tag steemusa on your posts
@violetmed,
You are an Angel. Thanks.
Are you a poet in the competition?
Thank you for taking the time to read through @quillfire's post and watching the trailer to my film. I hope you will be able to watch it when I release it on Saturday. I am working on the post for it now so I will have a nice write up for its release. Thank you for your support.
Congrats! This post has been resteemed to all my followers for free!
@bidseption,
Thank you for the Resteem!