photo #6566244

My hometown of Grafton, WV has the longest running Memorial Day parade in the nation. This year was our 157th Memorial Day parade. The parade begins in downtown Grafton and ends on Walnut Steet at the first of two National Cemeteries we have here in Grafton.This year we had a Vietnam, Marine Corps veteran standing post at the entrance of the National Cemetery. I had to make time to speak with him so I stopped and struck up a conversation which lasted about an hour. In the midst of our conversation he told me all about his Vietnam service and injuries sustained in combat. Struck in the head with loss of brain matter and tissue he found himself back in America fighting to overcome paralysis and many other combat related obstacles.Still suffering from extreme PTSD I noticed that the sounds of muskets being fired by some of the parade participants caused him to flinch and within seconds he was in the middle of full blown flashbacks of the war in Vietnam. He collapsed falling to the ground in a convulsive like manner and passed out momentarily. EMS came to his aid reviving him. With tears running down his face he apologized to all of us standing nearby as they loaded him on a stretcher and placed him inside an ambulance where he could recover more readily under the air conditioned environment and away from the crowd and noises from the parade.These are the sufferings of many of our veterans that have served in wars and combat. As a 23 year veteran myself my heart can only go out to my brothers and sisters in arms who have had to endure the emotional, psychological and physical pains and sufferings such as in this brother's case.LET'S NEVER FORGET THE MANY SACRIFICES OUR HEROES HAVE MADE FOR OUR COUNTRY !