To the Editor:
I read the article “Supporting the warrior” in the September Communicator. My heart goes out to Paula Zwilinger whose son, a Marine, was killed in combat.
I too am a Semper Fi parent. However I did not lose my son in combat, nor during active duty. I lost Marc, Sgt Marc A Thibert USMC, June 27, 2008, just two weeks before his 27th birthday and three years after honorable discharge, having served in Kuwait and Iraq.
Several of his friends, some former military and some not, had become corrections officers and Marc also applied. Though he applied and interviewed for corrections in New York state, he was not accepted into the academy as he did not pass his psychiatric evaluation.
This devastated him, and he never really knew why, or what he had said or done to be failed. He did say the questions asked during the interview “...dug too deep, and opened old wounds” and triggered nightmares.
I agree there is more to supporting the warrior than just while they are in the service. They need support and care after they serve too. Interviewers should think twice about what trauma they may revisit, and possibly follow up with more than just a rejection letter.
In your story, Paula also mentions “... the ones returning with PTSD or a traumatic brain injury are a generation of soldiers who might end up bankrupt. They are not making ends meet.”
The article leaves out, like so many casualty lists, those who choose to end their suffering by taking their lives by suicide, like my son.
I pray your sons and daughters will have the strength and courage to continue their work. And I pray for you parents as well.
CAROLYN THIBERT
Morristown
Help for hungry appreciated
To the Editor:
As PEF Region 1 coordinator, I would like to thank all the delegates to the 2009 PEF convention in Niagara Falls for their contributions and their participation in the many raffles we had at the Region 1 host booth. As a result, we made a donation of $1,200 to Community Missions. Your generosity will be appreciated by the charity and its clients.
I look forward to another successful effort in 2011 when Region 1 will again host the PEF convention in Niagara Falls.
KEVIN HINTZ
Buffalo
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