My family and I were on vacation in Siesta Keys, Florida at a VRBO and in stocking up supplies for the week, we stopped by the local liquor store. When we were ready to check out, this nice younger man stepped behind the register and asked if we found what we were looking for, was everything ‘ok’. I said we did, their store was great and handed him my debit card with the Marine Corps EGA. Turns out the man behind the counter, Sean, was also a former Marine and immediately made mention of my debit card. We did the standard Veteran greeting… when and where did you serve, and how you doing etc. I am sure my adult children that were with me were rolling their eyes as they have heard my stories way too many times. Sean said he was doing ‘pretty good’, but the I asked how he was feeling emotionally and wow, the tone of the conversation changed.
When I asked him how he was doing emotionally, it was almost like the noise was vacuumed out of the liquor store. His eyes welled up and said he was honestly struggling quite a bit… one of his co-workers noticed he was emotional and stepped in to help the other customers. It seemed as if everyone was aware of the importance of the conversation even though we stepped aside and spoke quietly. Now, I am not a therapist nor a counselor, but I am a Veteran who wants my fellow Veterans to heal from the scars of war. It turned out that Sean was definitely struggling from PTSD, saw a lot of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, was seriously wounded and lost many friends. At the end of our 10 minute conversation, we shook hands and I asked him to promise me that he wouldn’t bear the weight of his pain alone and that he wouldn’t become another morose statistic. He promised and thanked me profusely for taking a few minutes to connect with a fellow Marine. Sean also said that our quick 10 minute talk helped remind him that we are all a family and not alone.
The point of my story is to remember to take a moment for those around you (even if you are busy on vacation) to connect and show genuine concern with our Veteran community. I was surprised at how the conversation went but so glad we had it a chance to visit.
Mike Miller
Mike – did you happen to obtain Sean’s contact info for follow-up? If so, please pass on this to him: contact Home Base (homebase.org) – Kristin Knight invited them to speak at one of our recent meetings, and they help Vets with PTSD. All expenses are covered. Sean should contact them to see if they can help him.