Joseph George died yesterday. He was found at his camp, alone, after a long hot day in the sun.
He sometimes would come in and I would ask him how he was doing, sometimes he'd draw back in fear and other times he would try to help out. He would say I can't eat that, and was thin as a rail. Many days his sandy blond blond hair was unkempt, dirty and matted.
Other days he would look a little more grounded, coming in with cleaner hair, shorter and cleaner clothes. Joe had a rough time. His father died in January and he received mail from his sisters and a letter from a lawyer, with a check for 5 thousand dollars. All he used it for was to buy a cell phone, which on even his better days had a hard time using.
He was 38 years old and served 2 tours in Aftganistan, real dirty fightintg. He was in the secret service, went in deep and discharged honourably after 8 years due to mental breakdown incurred while in duty to his country. They just let him go, without treatment. The VA here has NO Mental Health services.

He was my friend, it took a long time to win his trust over but on some Saturdays he would stay with me and another guy while I cleaned.
On his good days he would help, on his not so good days he would just sit away from everyone. He had the colour of the sky blue eyes you rarely ever see. I wanted a couple of times to take him home, but knew he wouldn't stay or even come with me. Everyone called him George but I called him Joe, and he liked it.
May you finally have Peace Joe, you are missed already, you were a tender soul who did what you thought was right. God holds you gently
now Joe, you are safe at last.



For those of you considering serving your country- forget about it the notion. They treat their vets like crap, as bad as Vietnam now almost. They ignore them, do circle dances about providing services instead of giving them and let them suffer worse than any torture. SHAME ON YOU THE USA ARMED FORCES!

This is another reason why people should question the current administration more. I knew a guy who was Viet Nam era and lived in a camp near a Hyperion treatment facility. He cannot go inside buildings, and HATES Asians irrationally. One night we got him real drunk and asked him to tell us the straight skinny about what he did in Viet Nam. He corrected us and told us he was in Cambodia. He got a weird look in his eyes when he talked about going into tunnels. The man was a Tunnel Rat. The Most dangerous job of the Viet Nam war. He was literally tossed out on the street to the famous baby killer protests. The man was a mental wreck. It was only when he got real drunk he could come to terms with himself enough to talk about his time there.

And the current administration is propagating the problem even more. hell, Bush Jr. left behind Gulf War Syndrome and how does the VA handle that? Our current administration calls it cost cutting just like the previous administration.

My hat is off to your friend.

Yep, meet the new boss, same as the old boss. There was a very good reason why I left behind a 12 year career in the US Air Force... they don't take care of their own, even when in service.

so sorry about your friend Shasta...

To Joe.

So sorry to hear!

My prayers are with you

Thank you all, but please pray for him tonight. He's earned it.

done

Bless you Shasta for doing what you could to help him.. My brother served in Viet Nam and has a lot of problems and I know he's not the only one... My daughter will graduate college soon and will be working with some veterans.. She served 12 yrs navy and had to get out because of health reasons. Please keep all military personel in your prayers..

When we say thank you to our sons and daughters, most politely accept it. We are truly at a loss as to how to appreciate ALL those before and current.
I have 2 son's serving in the Marines. Both have experienced the atrocities that are a part of this picture.
My oldest son has TBI ..Traumatic Brain Injury..with no support of the VA. He struggles to make it through his last tour.
He suffers hardship of divorce where his former has taken 92% of his income with the Marines backing her by treating him as though he is a soldier incapable.

Thank you for sharing this here. I cannot feel enough respect for Joe.

Shasta, I chose to serve 2 tours in Viet Nam, Iraq 1 and 2 and Afganistan, as well as other places that hate the US......I know you are angry about the way your friend was treated.....I can only speak for myself....I have been treated well as of late, not always the way it was.....After my tours in Viet Nam was the worst, and in my opinion it has gotten better......I come from a very long family line of military service, and I will tell any of my relitives what I have seen and what the military has done for me and "they" are the ones that make that desision to join or not....

I have seen far to many of my friends leave the world and I know your pain.....It "never" leaves me, but I do go on and live.....I have been helped by people just like you, and that has made a difference in my life.....Thank you so very much for helping a vet.

To Joe...God-speed sweet, troubled soul. May your 'next' be all you deserve and far better than your last.

To Shasta...bless you for your loving heart and hope you receive the comfort you need to cope with the pain of this loss. You are a lovely person.