Betrayal By The Money Changers
This is a picture of a Vietnam veteran at the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Portland, Oregon.
Moments after he touched the name of a friend
who was killed in Vietnam, he broke down.
Not only did he break down for his friend,
but he broke down for himself.
The still living carry a burden that is so
overwhelming.
It is a trauma that never receives a
Purple Heart--never.
Day after day, month after month,
year after year, decade after decade.
The wound is called betrayal.
It is a gunshot wound to the soul.
Day after day, month after month,
year after year, decade after decade.
Drip after drip after drip after drip.
Betrayal is the insidious and pervasive
wound that eats away the heart and soul.
The vet eventually drifts away from everything
and everybody.
That's what happened to a Vietnam veteran
friend of mine.
He left his home and went to a motel room.
Drip after drip after drip.
They found him the next morning.
He had hung himself in the closet.
Why did he do this?
Because,
Betrayal is the gunshot wound to the soul.
Lying is the most powerful weapon in war.
It drained everything from his life.
The bleeding never stopped.
This country never stopped the bleeding.
Drip after drip after drip.
Here rests in emotional silence,
an American Veteran known but to God.
Mike Hastie
U.S. Army Medic
Vietnam 1970-71
February 23, 2009