Back on track after years of not facing problems

Richard:

My name is Richard. I did four years in the Marine Corps. I was involved in the Korean War. We were the first bunch in there. First Provisional Marine Brigade. There was a lot of hand-to-hand combat over there and I think we were out in the jungle in South Pacific and learned how to be jungle fighters. When I came back to the States I was Staff Sergeant. I was stationed at Philadelphia Navy Yard and at the time, I didn't know it, but I was pretty well messed up in the head. I took booze. I think that's all I took. You know, when you come down off adrenaline crash, that's the only thing that gets you by. There weren't other jobs in 1952, believe me. I ended up getting divorced and you know, bar fights. It got to the point where I could pick a fight in an empty room, you know. I had my nose rebuilt twice. That's from sticking it where it didn't belong. You know, they didn't have anything back in those days, like rehab type thing. God it was probably 30 years before I decided to go through VA and got with one of the counselors, and I'm still with him, and he's helped me quite a bit. It's something that should've happened to me many years ago, and didn't. And I lived through it and suffered through it. I didn't think I was suffering but I was. I am a recovering alcoholic, you know. And the VA has got every kind of program imaginable. I couldn't begin to name them all. And they have helped me, believe it or not. Really.

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