What Things Were Difficult to Communicate to Family and Friends About Your Military Service? Login & Share to Win!

The dumb shit we had to endure

The things I did and saw during my two tours in Vietnam

The absolute horror of war. Killing and watching your fellow troopers die. The real fear that gets in your gut. The camaraderie you have with those you served with.

My sexual assault while in Basic Training.

How I could be incredibly homesick one minute and totally forget about it the next!

How to communicate the end of the Vietnam war to the soldier who were there and who lost comrades who felt every bit of the pain from our essentially given up.@

Combat and the kids surrounded by it while still trying to be kids .

Describing things I saw other humans inflict on one another, hearing the screams, sobbing and wallows of refugees and other hated people being subjected to terror, smelling piles of bodies stacked up like chordwood...and just the death in general...I wouldn't even know where to start communicating to family, on these things

The classied things you wish you could answer ,but because of National Security you can not.

I would say the most difficult things to convey from my military career was the need to complete a "mission" and to be early to everything. You can't just reply with "Because people will DIE" if they ask you "why?". I hate being late and being on time is the same as late to me. Hard habit to break. Another thing i have a hard time with is trying to convey pain. Pain is a way of life and some people cannot function with even the slightest amount of discomfort and we live every day IN pain but don't complain about it. Without having lived the lifestyle, it is hard to explain that to people.