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'It's a Lifelong Burden': The Mixed Blessing of the Medal of Honor
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:08 am
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:08 am
WSJ.com
quote:
Gary Beikirch returned from Vietnam filled with rage and racked by guilt and worried he’d kill the next college kid who spat on him.
The former Green Beret medic let his mustache droop, and his hair reach his shoulders. He bought snow shoes and a thick down jacket and, in 1973, went to live in a cave in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He laid his sleeping bag and camping mat on a bed of leaves and pine needles. He hoped he’d find in the woods the peace and contentment he’d lost in the jungle.
A few weeks later, Mr. Beikirch drove his Chevy into town, where he took classes at a seminary. He found a note in his post office box instructing him to await a phone call from the Pentagon. That evening, a colonel was on the line telling him he’d be receiving the Medal of Honor for his actions during a North Vietnamese attack on a U.S. Special Forces outpost near the Laotian border.
quote:
“Here I had gone into a cave to try to forget about Vietnam,” says Mr. Beikirch, “and now they’re going to give me a medal for something I’m trying to forget.”
13
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:13 am to tss22h8
I feel like sometimes the medals are for everyone’s benefit except the soldier. A lot of vets that I knew growing up don’t even know where their medals are. They just want to live without the constant reminder. My grandfather received two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star in Korea. To this day, no one know where they are. To him, they were just reminders of some truly bad days.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:17 am to tss22h8
Netflix released a series about Medal of Honor winners in various wars and one guy said something along the lines of people needing to realize they earned these medals on the worst day of their lives.
Never thought about it like that.
My grandfather was in Vietnam. There is a small frame of his medals at his house but from what I’m told those weren’t put up for decades.
Never thought about it like that.
quote:
They just want to live without the constant reminder. My grandfather received two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star in Korea. To this day, no one know where they are. To him, they were just reminders of some truly bad days.
My grandfather was in Vietnam. There is a small frame of his medals at his house but from what I’m told those weren’t put up for decades.
This post was edited on 5/24/19 at 11:19 am
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:20 am to DeafJam73
quote:
A lot of vets that I knew growing up don’t even know where their medals are.
You don't get (important) medals for things that happen on good days. While you may have been your best self on the days that lead to being award a MOH, distinguished cross or silver/bronze star it is also most likely the worst days of your life. I can imagine for many just seeing their own medals could be painful.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:25 am to Obtuse1
He always told my dad that he was very proud of his service. He believed that he did what any man should do. But he also said that having to take a life is not something he wished on anyone. He had nightmares almost every night until he died. He was an alcoholic because no one back then knew what PTSD was. He had his issues and less than healthy ways to deal with them, but he was an honorable man. He worked hard at the ship yard for 40 years. My biggest regret in life is that I never got a chance to know him.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:28 am to theGarnetWay
A friend of mine had a grandfather that got a Purple Heart and a couple other medals in WWII.
He had no clue at all until his grandfather died and they found them while cleaning out the attic at his house.
He had no clue at all until his grandfather died and they found them while cleaning out the attic at his house.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:32 am to tss22h8
An old Gunny told me one time about medals.
"The more medals you have mean the more misery you went through" something along those lines.
Pretty sure he didn't come up with that and its an old saying.
"The more medals you have mean the more misery you went through" something along those lines.
Pretty sure he didn't come up with that and its an old saying.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:35 am to DeafJam73
My uncle was a seal in Vietnam. To this day, he has still told my aunt very very little about the things he had to do there. He came back and became a very wealthy deep sea diver/welder in the O&G industry. But he's an alcoholic. Which I am sure has a lot to do with his time there. He's a nice guy though. I have always like him. But when you are around him, the way he carries himself.Not that he is mean or anything. He's actually quite nice, but you have a healthy respect/fear of him.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 11:59 am to tss22h8
Who gets the MoH and who doesn't can be somewhat random and occasionally political. Read some of the citations for the MoH vs DSC/Navy/AF Cross or in some cases the silver star and you'd usually be hard pressed to tell a qualitative difference between the actions. The event has to be witnessed, has to go up the chain of command, and is subject to the vagaries of whatever someone thinks about it. During WWII in Europe each division had a MoH quota and if your division had already reached its quota for that time frame or operation, nobody else was getting one, no matter how heroic the act.
Re politics: William Swenson, one of only two MoH recipients currently on active duty, had his recommendation "lost" for a considerable period of time, allegedly as retaliation for his criticizing the chain of command for lack of fire support during the action he was involved in. That lead to a change in policy and now recommendations are supposed to be immediately forwarded up the line. We'll see if it actually has an effect.
Swenson left the Army for four years and found himself adrift and unemployed. He applied and was allowed to return at his previous rank, which is highly unusual for an officer.
Re politics: William Swenson, one of only two MoH recipients currently on active duty, had his recommendation "lost" for a considerable period of time, allegedly as retaliation for his criticizing the chain of command for lack of fire support during the action he was involved in. That lead to a change in policy and now recommendations are supposed to be immediately forwarded up the line. We'll see if it actually has an effect.
Swenson left the Army for four years and found himself adrift and unemployed. He applied and was allowed to return at his previous rank, which is highly unusual for an officer.
This post was edited on 5/24/19 at 12:02 pm
Posted on 5/24/19 at 12:18 pm to Jim Rockford
I knew old guy was Korea veteran,took 6 separate bullets,bayoneted through arm,burned one side of his face and suffered frostbite injuries to his feet.Famlily said he refused to talk about the war.Ran his business until he was 80,refused to ever apply for Social Security,said he didn’t want damn thing from US government.Wife said he was bitter about all his friends that got killed,all the injuries he suffered and U.S. walked away.I imagine lot of Vietnam Nam vets felt same way.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 12:22 pm to tss22h8
I never knew what my grandfather did in WW2 until the day we buried him. He was in the security detail for what would later be known as the Monuments Men.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 12:30 pm to tss22h8
Posted on 5/24/19 at 1:13 pm to tss22h8
I have my dad's purple heart from Korea. He was in the 187th Airborne that dropped in to try to save other POWs and a large portion of his unit was detained for 18 months. I didn't know how long until after he died and I requested his records. He died when I was 12 and he never talked about anything that happened at all. He had severe PTSD, emphysema, chemical burns all over his back and disfigured knuckles. The government's solution was to have him go to the VA hospital in NOLA and get anti-depressants. He never took them. He died right in the middle of the 1st Gulf War in '91 and I have vivid memories of him just sitting and staring at the tv in a trance. Operation Desert Storm launched on 1/17/91 and dad died 1/23/91. At night we'd hear him saying shite in his sleep, yelling, etc. It was terrifying. But hey, he got this really super awesome Purple Heart though. 
Posted on 5/24/19 at 1:30 pm to Tigerdew
You’re roughly 40 and your dad fought in the Korean War?
I’m the same age and my grandfather fought in Korea
I’m the same age and my grandfather fought in Korea
Posted on 5/24/19 at 1:30 pm to Yammie250F
Unless you’re John Kerry.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 1:34 pm to Booyow
quote:
You’re roughly 40 and your dad fought in the Korean War? I’m the same age and my grandfather fought in Korea
Posted on 5/24/19 at 1:37 pm to Spaceman Spiff
I’m not calling him a liar. His dad could have been around 45 or so when he was born. Just found it interesting
Posted on 5/24/19 at 1:39 pm to Booyow
quote:
Korean War?
I’m the same age and my grandfather fought in Korea
I know a guy in his early sixties whose father fought in WWI. His dad was 72 when he was born
Posted on 5/24/19 at 1:43 pm to theGarnetWay
quote:
Medal of Honor winners
Not to be a jerk, but one doesn’t win the Metal of Honor, one receives it.
Posted on 5/24/19 at 1:46 pm to Spaceman Spiff
quote:
Here is one from Vietnam: Roy Benavidez
This guy was a true American badass
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