Tim took a few, brief moments while deployed to teach someone how to play the guitar. Shrapnel from a sudden explosion nearby killed the Soldier who Tim was teaching. Tim was unhurt, but he blamed himself for the Soldier's death for years afterward, until a trip to VA helped him put the experience in a larger context.
View Video TranscriptTim:
One of the few times I was back in the rear, teaching a Guide, and even though from the rear, how to play the guitar. There was an explosion out on the perimeter and this big piece of metal came, killed him [crying]. It took me a long time to accept that I wasn't responsible, because I had been in the country for several months and I allowed myself a moment to play that guitar and think about not being in Vietnam. And any other time when that explosion went off, I would have been heading for cover. And I sat there. He was too new to know what to do. I still see his brand new boots and his shiny dog tags.
The folks at the VA helped me to understand that I wasn’t in control of everything that went around me in Vietnam and that bad things happen to good people even when you do everything right, really bad things can happen.
They helped me to learn that it is okay to think about these things and to remember these things.
No matter what you may be experiencing, there is support for getting your life on a better track. Many, many Veterans have found the strength to reach out and make the connection.
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