As most people will advocate for someone who is close to them, I am no different. Veterans will always be a significantly cherished population to me. Not only have I served in the military; I have personally lost too many brothers and sisters to this honorable service. The biggest loss encountered however, was not lost while in combat, but his death that occurred later after returning stateside. 3 years ago SSGT Jonathon Rigsby died in his sleep due to hypertension, stress, and anxieties related to PTSD. Jonathon (Johnny) was my childhood best friend from age 8 until this very moment. He served 2 tours overseas in Iraq while raising his 3 children. During his second deployment his wife had an affair, took most of his money, and mailed him divorce …show more content…
He felt out of place, alone, and underappreciated. After a 1 ½ years and bouncing from social worker to social worker, Johnny eventually received a job within the VA. The social worker who treated him for mental health issues and performed case management duties found Johnny a job washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen and acted like she done him a favor. I want to remind you this was a gunner sargent who was highly decorated and educated that was now scrubbing dishes like a entry level teenager. He often talked about how easily it was to have his “toes stepped on” because of how people treated him and how it didn’t seem anyone recognized him as a person who had sacrificed his entire life to his country. He always kept his composure and never complained, but these pent up feelings lead to major depression. Johnny’s mental health issues continued to be underestimated and untreated until the time of his death. In my opinion this is an example that occurs too often in this country. Understandably it may be difficult to understand the complex emotions that war will bring with it, but it’s the return to society that is the strongest battle. Perhaps I have gotten off the course of what you were looking for in this assignment, but the research brought back familiar feelings and felt it was appropriate to