Fighting Ptsd: One Poem at a Time

By James H. Rose

A book of Poems about PTSD, Agent Orange, Homeless Veterans in America, The Gold Star families of America and their sacrifices, Our present Military, and a sprinkling of humor with a little satire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 18, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462890682

James H. Rose

James Rose is married to wife Marilyn with three children, two grand children, and two great grand children. Born in Conroe Texas in 1945 and graduated from Conroe High School in 1964. Drafted into the United States Army in 1965. Jim remained in the Army for eight years with overseas tours in Korea, Germany, Thailand, and Vietnam. Honorably discharged in 1973. Jim is now totally disabled from the effects of Agent Orange and living in Pasadena Texas.

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Copyright © 2011 by James H. Rose.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011910282

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4628-9067-5

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4628-9066-8

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4628-9068-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

99909

Contents

His real Treasure

Sacrifices

Job Well Done

Riding Life’s Highway

OH, Can’t you see

Stay Safe Brothers

We don’t fight like we used to

In plain sight

Searching for life’s answers

Honesty will get you no where

The pants in the family

Visiting Hours

Taking Charge

To each his own

The Book

An Apo Christmas

Brothers and Sisters in Arms

Bye Captain America

Moment’s of Guilt

Unsung Heroes

Just the way we are

Manly Thoughts

Hi Brother

" Faces and Places, a remembrance

Friendly Fire

A cell with no bar’s

A PTSD Christmas

A Mother’s Thoughts

Brother’s Again

A VFW night out

A poem for Rod and Charlie

Colors

Letter’s From Home

Promise’s Kept

Forever near

Shame in America

Traveling with a friend

Decisions

First Overseas Tour

You ain’t Heavy

Devotion

The Viewing

M I A

We celebrate too

Where is OZ and the Tin Man

The Best of Times

Fresh Air

Golden Years

Just another day in the Nam

Starting Over"

Some thing’s never change

Purging the Mind

Light the fire, Stand the heat

His own Angel

He didn’t get to say Goodbye

For my wife Marilyn who has stuck with me through good times

as well as the Bad.

To my Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 685 and my Transportation Brothers who are simply the best.

To all of the Veterans of this country who know exactly what I am talking about in these poems because they are living it.

And a special Thanks to George W. Bush a fellow Texan and the

43rd President of the United States of America who will never get

the respect that he deserves because of hate and ignorance but who

stepped up to the plate and took charge doing his job during one of the

darkest period’s in our Nation’s history.

To Doctor Lydia Quinones for prolonging and saving my life. And for encouraging me to publish these poems in order to help other veterans.

Some Veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD), and the effects of Agent Orange have hobbies to help them deal with them in their daily lives. Things like wood working, restoring old cars, creating a garden, reading and other things to help them cope. I write poetry. It allows me to purge whatever is bothering me from my mind for a while by transferring it to paper or computer. These poems have been compiled for a few years and run the gambit from PTSD, Agent Orange, Homeless Veterans, Gold Star Families from the war on terror, and the present day military. They are sprinkled with poems with a little humor which I wrote when life became a little overbearing and I needed to shake it off. I have been told over the years that I needed to get these poems published by friends and some of my doctors because they may do some other veteran some good. If they will help just one Veteran to understand the situation that he or she is in then they will have served their purpose for more than just one.

Sometimes we can get so caught up with everyday life we overlook the important things we have going for us. Some of us work all of our lives to get the big homes, the new cars, the exotic vacations, and money in the bank when what we really need has always been right in front of us. Our mates. Every once in a while we should tell them that we would have been happy to be living in a tent eating Vienna sausage and beanee weenee’s as long as they were there with us.

 His real Treasure

He had just finished the evening shift

and he was tired to the bone

he could sure use a drink

but he needed to get on home

They were doing all right now

nice home couple of new cars

he did not get to where he was at

hanging out in the bars

His mind slipped back in time

he smiled as he thought of those days

three hots and a cot

seventy eight a month was his pay

Married out of high school

still wet behind the ears

so very much in love

still good after all these years

It had been off to war

he had stayed in for twenty

they faced the hard times together

and there had been many

Then came his discharge

and a new job the next day

with good pay and benefits

and a four O one K

He finally made it home

it had been quite a night

she would be sleeping now

so he had to be quiet

Up the stairs he went

to the second floor

then down the hall

to their bedroom door

He pushed open the door

and stood there awhile

she was beautiful while she slept

and he couldn’t help but smile

after all of these years

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