Veteran Suicide and Anzac day!

 

ANZAC day is tomorrow which has inspired me to contribute. There is a Royal Commission into the suicides of Veterans underway that I hope is a success. What would I know?

I am a Pacifist and have been since I was a teenager. I spent 19 years working in the Australian Maritime Industry as a cook and knew some veterans of war. My father was a veteran and experienced combat as a teenager in New Guinea when he was in the 39th Battalion. 118 men lost their lives and Dad went to every ANZAC day to mourn.

My Grandfather spent time in Hospital after he was shot and Gassed in the Great War! John Reynolds only lived until he was 50 and left a wife and young family behind. He was the only surviving member of his family to survive after 1918. His father and Grandfather were also Scottish soldiers.

PTSD is something I’m familiar with. I had an injury in 1989 where I spent 10 days on life support and lost a lot of blood. I broke bones and had lung damage and was non weight bearing for 8 months. Amoxicillin was one of the many drugs I took and I had Pneumonia. I was taking Panadeine Forte and remember the Constipation which wasn’t nice. That was a long time ago and I’ve since had many Hernias, Shingles, Gout and a Gall bladder infection. I have Sleep Apnoea and Insomnia which can be annoying. I’ve had heart Palpitations but since I stopped taking Sudafed and reduced my caffeine intake I’ve had fewer problems. I take no medication for Depression.

My mother never liked ANZAC day and claimed it bought back sad memories of the War. She worked in a cake shop at Burntisland where soldiers would march to war and some wouldn’t return!

My theory is everyone has PTSD but some folks cope better than others. It could help if we have no wars to fight and I’ll leave it there for now!

Tomorrow I’ll remember my father and a few workmates went through stuff they never spoke about. I intend to remain a Pacifist!