MILITARY SECTION

FINDING YOUR PLACE

BY DOMINIC CERTO

"YOU ARE NOT LESS OF A PERSON IF YOU REACH OUT FOR HELP, BECAUSE THAT SEARCH FOR SUPPORT IS FROM STRENGTH, NOT WEAKNESS."

The demonstrable problem facing most military with combat experience is managing post service emotional, mental, and physical readjustments. Countless veterans suffer from one, if not all three of these problems. It's difficult to come back to a sane, satisfying, comfortable lifestyle, after a life of shock, violence, and at times, inhumane acts, when all around you is a culture focused on the exact opposite.

I realized this, not only from my own experience as ac combat corpsman with the Marines in Vietnam, but as Chairman of The Advisory Board at Operation Homefront, where we worked to settle and readjust disabled veterans and their families into a better life. These challenges came at a price and a commitment, but the commitment and price begin with the individual and their desire to refocus on something new. 

In 1970 I returned from the Vietnam War struggling to deal with experiences that I had while involved with operations in a heavy combat area. The death, destruction and insanity of war made an impression on me as a young 19-year-old man. I came back somewhat bitter, disillusioned, and insecure, as I