As We Honor Our Veterans Today We Still Have Every Right To Be Cautious And Concerned

"When I think of Veterans Day, I think of my late father, Army Major Vester Brooks Smith, and his service in World War II and the Korean War. He made sacrifices to leave his family putting his life at risk. By the grace of God, he made it home alive. If he hadn't, me and my two other brothers wouldn't have been born because we were born after his time in Korean. Also, I think of his time and service he gave to our country while he was enlisted in the Army and the local National Guard in Memphis where I grew up. Although he was not killed in war, he paid the ultimate price by obtaining the dreaded Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (PTSD). However, he was a high functioning member of society and went on to get his college degree from Memphis State University and had a very successful career in

accounting and bookkeeping. And as I think of us as American citizens, we pay the ultimate sacrifice too by honoring our veterans and America everyday, working hard and paying our taxes. We were born here legally and because of our heritage of our family member's sacrifice in the military, we have the right to be proud and to be concerned for our country, our homes, our jobs, our community and our families. We have right to be concerned for our way of life, our peace and our freedom from threats and of acts of violence against our citizens and our nation from terrorists such as Muslims extremists and other such terrorists. We have a right to be cautious and leery of these Syrians Muslim refugees that Obama and his administration are bringing into Bowling Green and other small towns across the nation. We work hard, pay our taxes and are law abiding citizens and we have every right to be concerned and on guard. And we do not seek handouts. We pay our own way and apparently the way for others who are not even citizens who have not even made any sacrifices nor have their family members. Nevertheless Happy Veterans Day!"-Galen A. Smith Sr.

"American Sniper" Strikes A Deep, Emotional Chord In Audiences Across The U.S.

    I should have known that something was in the air when I saw a train crossing the tracks at Dishman Lane in Bowling Green late Friday evening carrying U.S. military tanks, Humvees and Jeeps painted with that very familiar faint yellow which is the camouflage for combat in a Middle Eastern desert.

    I didn't know it at the time, but I was in for a big surprise this weekend. I assume the train was transporting equipment from Fort Knox to Fort Campbell, two Army bases,  which are both located in the State of Kentucky. Recently, I've heard the news that the U.S. government is downsizing our military and reducing the amount of man power and equipment used in operations across the globe. I know that our Kentucky politicians are concerned and many Kentucky citizens are also concerned. Both bases will be greatly reduced in many ways effecting our state's economy.  Mainly, I am concerned about America's safety and security against the War On Terrorism. With all the reduction in the troops, I feel that this make us more vulnerable to the enemy a.k.a. "ISIS."
      However, the high point and surprise of my weekend was how great of a movie that "American Sniper" was starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood. It's was the highest grossing non-big budget films movies of all time during its first two weekends. Even my wife, Patty, wanted to see it. We arrived at the theater about 15 minutes early even before the previews started and the movie was almost sold out. And it was the first movie showing of the day.  For me when I walked out the theater after the movie was over, I felt like I had been hit hard in the chest. The movie is such a deep, emotional movie for all true, patriot Americans especially if you have family members who are veterans and who fought in combat. I could barely hold my tears back. Wow. There was total silence and not a dry eye in that theater when everyone walked out of there. My heart was full yesterday afternoon after the movie. But I think all Americans can relate to this movie and the incredible bravery of Navy Seal Chris Kyle and his life story especially if you know someone who has returned home from combat and has experienced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Chris served four tours of duty in Iraq, he had the highest number of sniper kills (160) in U.S. military history. He earned two Sliver Stars and five Bronze Stars Medals before he was killed on a firing range at home in Texas while trying to help another solider with PTSD.  I also think all Americans can relate to the 911 scenes and the War on Terrorism. My father was a World War II and Korean War veteran and experienced PTSD or "shell shock" as it was known back in those days. Psychiatrists and psychologists really did not know much about the condition until recently.  Also, the general public is starting to understand and learn more about it too.  Nevertheless, this movie has struck a deep chord in my life and I will be forever grateful for Chris's service to our country. I also know that the family too suffers when soldiers returns home because they are still fighting the war in their minds. My dad did and my mom says he was never the same when he came home. Go see the movie and then thank a veteran and their family for the service and sacrifices in which they have made in order to protect America from the evils of terrorism.

Finding Understanding In HBO's "Wartorn: 1861-2010"

Life is strange and unusual sometimes. Or perhaps-right on time.

Again this year, I was sitting in my work vehicle in the Sonic Drive-In in Tompkinsville, Ky., on Veterans Day listening to the radio and eating my lunch. And again, I flipped channels several times and I came upon this radio show where the segment was about war and war veterans which is not "unusual" for Veterans Day, I suppose. But the radio show was something that I could really relate to. The interviewer was asking the producer of a new HBO documentary, "Wartorn: 1861-2010,"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvIrpyzpcR4&feature=player_embedded#! questions about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other questions about his recently released documentary. The producer's name is James Gandolfini, who is better known as "Tony" from the HBO's hit series, "The Sopranos." I watched the documentary on cable television's "Demand" this past Saturday afternoon.

Through out the whole documentary, I couldn't stop thinking about my late father, Ret. Army Major Vester Brooks Smith (World War II and Korean War veteran) of Memphis, Tenn., and North Mississippi, who also suffered from "PTSD," but wouldn't have ever admitted it. The film shows cases where soldiers who had returned from war committed suicide, became alcoholics and began to suffered from mental illness-anxiety, panic attacks and paranoia. The film also shows that a lot of recent returning war veterans have even ended caught up in America's legal and prisons systems because of their disorder.

Although, I am not a war veteran myself nor have I ever served in the military, I feel that, I, along with my late mother and siblings who are still living were also affected by father's "PTSD." My mother always said, when my father came home to Memphis from the Korean War after being in combat for a year, that he was not the same person when he left. I once called into the "Gordon Liddy" radio talk show after the Iraq War had begun back in 2003 and I warned his listeners and the American people of the effects of "PTSD" and how it not only affects the war veterans themselves but their families also. Mr. Liddy said that he did not agree with me or nor believe in "PTSD." Although, I disagreed with Mr. Liddy, it is now proven that this disorder is very real and not only does it affect the individual themselves and their families but society as a whole also.

My father didn't talk about the wars that he fought in very often not unless he was drinking. Then, he'd open up. And it wasn't always pretty either. However, "Wartorn," is a fascinating documentary that gives a dark account of the damage that "PTSD" causes in American veterans returning from war. This documentary does a excellent job of educating viewers as that "PTSD" is real and that our solders are authentically affected by it whether people want to believe or not. In the past until recently, there has been a prevailing notion that "PTSD" in previous wars prior to Vietnam that it didn't exist-"Shell Shock" as it was known in War War I and "Battle Fatigue," as it was known in World War II and the Korean War. General George Patton during World War II was said to have slapped a young solider who suffering from battle fatigue and sent him back to the front line. These suffering soldiers were said to have a "lack of gut fortitude," and this was placed on their military records as a stigma.

From the beginning of the documentary where it starts with the Civil War in 1861 all the way to the Iraq War of recent times, I think "Wartorn" is a well produced film and it will have a positive impact on our government, military personnel and military officers and prompt them to continue to pay closer attention to the signs "PTSD." And hopefully, military medical communities such as the VA (Veterans Administration) will continue to look for new treatments for the disorder. I think we owe this to our returning solders, their families and to the American society.