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Coming Back Home
"I gave myself a year to keep my medals and awards hanging up on the wall"
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to this Commentary!
By Kevin Walter
Probably the moment where I realized that it was real and that it was almost all over was when I was arguing with a fellow about a canteen cup that I had. There was something wrong on it - a little spot of rust that I hadn’t seen and sanded off. And I said, hey man, this is the last thing that I got to do before I go get my clearing papers signed, then I’m outta here. Just please buddy, cut me some slack here. Give me a break. And he kind of looked at me he turned around and he tossed it in the bin, signed my paper and said ‘get the hell out of here.’
It was pretty rough getting back and starting college, I showed up a few days late for registration, and I had to pull my “ I just got out of the army card,” you know - give me a break here. But once again it just brings up…when do I want to pull this army card out? When do I want to just lay low about the whole uh, being back from the army issue? I gave myself a year to keep my medals and awards hanging up on the wall and to keep all the various army t-shirts that I’ve collected in my drawers and to keep wearing them, but the time for that is about up now and you got to put those things away mentally and physically I think.
A good friend of my dad’s is a sergeant major spent 25 years and he stills run’s every morning and goes around the house and makes sure everything is dress right dress just like he was in the attitude never lives him.
But um, that transition from always knowing you’ll have three hots and a cot and there will always be someone right there to tell you what the hell to do if you’re not so sure yourself, to being a functioning young adult, the pressure is huge. It’s time for school and go getting’ and not for old stories and rememberin’.
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