VA says advice on post-trauma is incorrect
An Army team moves the remains of Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz Jr., a decorated Army Special Forces soldier and a former resident of Wading River, last month. Credit: AP
As caregivers of Long Island's veterans, we at Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center are seriously disappointed with Marlene Nadle's op-ed, "Troubled vets need a better therapy" [Jan. 31], in which she calls on civilians to "urge vets to tell them of their war horrors" and let them know "society takes part of the responsibility for what the soldiers did in our name." She asserts this "therapy" will help veterans suffering with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder "focus on fixing the shattered identity caused by war" and encourage them "to do acts of service or atonement, to repair their identity."
No one knows better the horrors and other life-changing experiences of war than our veterans. Yet, after securing our nation's freedom and democratic way of life - and the freedom of peoples the world over - our veterans owe no further act of service, nor is there anything for which they must atone. It is we, all beneficiaries of their military service, who should serve them, to help them heal in a manner that honors, not diminishes, their brave service and great sacrifice.
While respect is all veterans expect, we all owe them so much more. Let's all work tirelessly toward that objective.
Philip C. Moschitta
Northport
Editor's note: The writer is the director of the Northport VA Medical Center.
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