General George S. Patton was called "Georgie" by his wife, Beatrice. He was forced to apologize to the troops he "slapped around" for suffering from PTSD during WWII. Here's what happened.

Patton didn't believe "Battle Fatigue" or "Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder" to be a "disease." He thought anyone who gave in to the psychological affliction was, in his words, A God-Damned Coward!

I'm sure there are those on the fanatic right wing who agree with Patton's view. I'm almost certain that our "Georgie" and his Neo-Con puppet master, Dick "The Monster" Cheney would take great satisfaction from having a "leader" like Patton today.

Donald Schmidt, 23, who lives near Peoria, Illinois, is one of more than 22,000 who have been discharged from military service for "pre-existing personality disorders" after serving this country bravely.

Schmidt served two combat tours in Iraq. His job? Gathering up body parts after suicide bombings. He was on a "Quick Reaction Team." During TET in 1968, I carried my share of bodies and body parts off the choppers and into our make-shift morgue. Such duty changes a man. Walk a mile in Donald Schmidt's boots before you judge him, as both the "Georgies" in this article, a God-Damned coward.

Tell me honestly that you can't picture Dick Cheney verbally "slapping" this young man. Think about that for a minute. Dick Cheney who hid behind a half-dozen deferments to avoid military service where his "True Grit" would have been tested.

How about our "Georgie?" He hid from Vietnam service in the National Guard. And anyone who doesn't know the difference between the National Guard of the Vietnam era and today's Guard should do a little research.

Now think about the other 22,000 who stood against the enemy during battle. Think about the consequences of being discharged for a "pre-existing personality disorder" by a Pentagon who sent you into a war... TWICE or more!

If these 22,000 would have been discharged for PTSD caused by their military service, our country would be responsible for their treatment and long term psychological care. Is this obscenity all about money? Of course it is!

I could cite many others who are among the 22,000. One who slept under his truck and lived in nearly constant fear received the same treatment from the Pentagon.

During my research about PTSD, I've heard the same story over and over and over from veterans of several wars. I heard from a fellow blogger about how her son returned from his FOURTH tour in Iraq and was bothered terribly by the Independence Day fireworks. He could no longer enjoy the event he had loved for his entire life.

Yesterday a comment on my first blog in this series told the story of a WWII vet in her town who had to retire to his farm and hide from the celebration of Independence Day because it took him back to HIS war.

All veterans of ALL wars know what I'm talking about. Some can handle it better than others but ALL are affected.

The tragedy of the current war in Iraq is more than the fact that it was not necessary, legal or moral. The real tragedy which this administration's monsters didn't plan for or care about is this: These soldiers, sailors and Marines have been sent into harms way time and time again. Some have done 5 tours in Iraq!

Another fellow blogger noted that her husband, a combat medic in Vietnam, had told her that if he'd been extended for another 6 months he wouldn't have survived. I don't know if he was talking about the gamble of battle or suicide to escape the terror. Either way I know what he was talking about and thinking. I can't imagine what these brave Americans in Iraq must be enduring.

The fear we in Vietnam felt was the same but we had a date certain to go home. We had HOPE. But these troops have been involuntarily extended, sent back over and over again, lived under constant threat of death or injury every day since this war began. They NEVER get a break from the fear. They NEVER get a break from the terror. They NEVER get a chance to hope they will be home on a date certain. This is psychological torture beyond imagination.

And when they crack under that kind of incredible pressure does our government support them? Does our government offer them treatment for the PTSD they suffer? NO! They are thrown back into civilian society with not only the scars of battle but with the official brand: Pre-Existing-Personality-Disorder.

That's a slap in the face of these brave Americans from our current "Georgie."

The Willie Nelson song, "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys," has a line that haunts me as I write this book on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The line is: "Cowboys are special with their own kind of misery, from being alone too long." I remember singing along with that song when it was released and every time I've watched "The Electric Horseman." It is a poignant reminder that poetry and song lyrics are sometimes windows into the soul of the writer and, even more profound than that, their words can sometimes illuminate a subject or a state of mind better than any other medium.

As I've interviewed former soldiers and marines I've learned that the military has put in place a new "debriefing" system which includes a section on dealing with what they've been through psychologically. We didn't have that when I returned from Vietnam. I was a Corpsman in the United States Navy. When I returned in July, 1968, we flew directly into Norton Air Force Base in California. The TET offensive in January/February 1968 had begun to turn the tide in American support and the Pentagon was flying us into military bases then busing us to our duty stations. I think, looking back, that they knew we weren't ready to face the growing protests and angry rhetoric at public airports. Or, worse yet, they were worried that soldiers, sailors and marines returning from an environment like Vietnam, would overreact and give the media more ammunition to use to turn the tide with the viewing public.

I do know this: I was bused to Long Beach Naval Station and given some trivial tasks to perform while I awaited discharge. It took a couple of weeks to process paperwork, then I was turned loose on society. I've always known that Vietnam changed me but I honestly didn't realize how much until the events of the past 5 years brought memories and pain flooding back. I heard my parents tell others, "He's so different since he got back."

For the first couple of years I held down job after job and drank too much. I bought a little trailer from my dad which was 8' by 26' and that was "Home" for a time. I dreamed of finding a hundred acres of land in the mountains of Northern Nevada and putting the trailer in the center so nobody could get to me unless I could see them coming. That's why those lyrics hit me so hard. That's why I have to wipe tears away almost every time I sing along. I withdrew into myself. Unless you've been where I've been, you probably can't understand that statement.

Relationships have always been temporary things in my mind. Oh, don't get me wrong... I've put up a good front. Another song comes to mind: "Tears Of A Clown." Smokey Robinson's lyrics hit home too. But deep inside where NOBODY else has been or even seen, there's a "special kind of misery" that burns and screams and eats away at the essence of humanity. That's why those who suffer from PTSD don't talk about "things." They/We don't want to open that festering wound that never heals. They/We don't want to be vulnerable or show "weakness."

Funny, I've always been a strong man, physically. Hard work as a child and young man gave me the stamina and stubborn determination to overcome any physical impediment. I always enjoyed moving objects nobody could move or doing tasks everyone else thought impossible. But, looking back, it was all part of the psychological "Death Wish" I've hidden so deeply inside. Taking risks has been my M.O. It's amazing that I'm alive to write this. Many who have lived with this aren't alive or are so deeply depressed that they wish they weren't.

People have loved me. But I've never felt that I deserved that kind of happiness so I've always done everything I could to drive away those who wanted to be close to me. In the words of the Simon & Garfunkel song: "I Am A Rock!" Yeah, right.

I'm going to post a series of articles on this subject for the next couple of weeks. They will deal with what others have told me about their PTSD experiences and how lives have been changed because of the kinds of feelings I've expressed above. I just wanted to lay a little groundwork so those who wish to share my journey through this mine field of human emotion will know that I DO know a little about the subject from personal experience.

To paraphrase an old saying: For those who haven't experienced PTSD, no explanation is possible. For those who have experienced this, no explanation is necessary.