the presidents son and the DD214

jack carter-the presidents son

Originally uploaded by jayfherron.

I am still considering the comments made by the Generals daughter because she was bringing thoughts and questions and they each were valid but generic because of the times-even though she lines up in the same age group I do one will find the paths all have different directions even though they seem to lead to the same places.
At the early age of my life after leaving the Navy I became bitter and rebelious to any authority-the officer at barracks D who gave out the chuckle when he heard I had been raped-he sealed that deal.
By the time Jimmy Carter ran for President I was already a father of two boys and working the crappiest job any one could imagine-I was a ‘batch doctor’ at a paint factory…the owner of the factory was the man who regarded my DD214 as enough information to judge me-based on three numbers-384-….at time I dont believe I even took any time to read my DD214 or any of the other papers the Navy gave me at discharge. I left the Navy ashamed and feeling guilt that I let everybody down and damaged to an extent that at that time I had no idea the damage would be there every waking day.
On the line beneath that number it states this is an HONORABLE DISCHARGE….the date naturally only shows I had been in the Navy short of seven months,all of these factors raised questions in the factory owners interview-why only seven months-what do you say about this code number?? I never noticed the DD214 said I had an Honorable Discharge until years and years later-long after Jimmy Carter ran for president….you see,I always thought I had a GENERAL discharge as its what it says on the cerificate,a different form than the DD214.
Whats Jimmy Carter got to do with this?
Jack…his son was discharged from the Navy after being caught with several others in possesion of marijuana -52 pounds of it-and he admitted use of LSD as a seasoning to ensure he’d be discharged,those are his words….
Jimmy Carter promised during his campaign to forgive those who ran to Canada instead fighting in Viet Nam and he was going to upgrade the discharges of those who found troubles like his son Jack did-and give them honorable discharges. Jimmy Carter was the only time Ive ever voted-I thought I’d at least get a better discharge since my number -384- must indeed match Jacks….but the difference is I never did one thing wrong! Ever-and was there because I wanted to serve my country-thats what we were brought up to know…America the beautiful.
I wrote a letter-I have the original which was returned with my request and a letter saying I had been refused….that was rather deadening-Jack Carter,the President of the United States son was given an upgrade-mine stayed as it was.
Trust….geez.
Of course-even though my discharge is under HONORABLE CONDITIONS I have never felt honor…and in my opinion it remains a general discharge and the words on my DD214 are in error just as much as on another document they have on me says I enlisted when I was 10 years old…..hmmm.
All the things that bring me misery from those days in barracksd D where pretty well kept in my closet in my spirit and never if ever only rarely shared-uaually with some effect to blow back in my face,so-it was kept inside of me all of these years only shared with few trusted people,regretfully.
At the VA one day during a routine visit questions were asked and soon drugs were given to me and later I was reporting to a shrink who to me had as much desire to me as he did to change tires on semi trucks…it was the pills,take the pills-the pills will make you feel better….and we will see you next month-but dont forget to take the pills.
My toilet got those pills and I wrote a letter to the mental health clinic saying over the years I did drinking and drugs and all kinds of getting high to loose sense and yet each day the same thing was there-even in sobriety…and so the drugs and booze and all that would not escape those memories and so over the years I found sobriety and what does the VA want me to do to feel better….take the pill.
No,that was’nt for me. Months went by after I wrote a letter explaining that-and finally mentioning barracks D….and that got me into therapy.
Then-after several months-perhaps a year into treatment the suggestion to seek VA compensation for what happened with the assurences that I fit the bill for the required signals for PTSD I followed the advice that was offered and went to the local VA service officer in my county-as instructed….and there I met bigoted remarks and confusion about sexuality and crime and homosexuals and this from a person who was supposed to be in place to help me but instead offended me and scared me and there is the fear of trust one more time. The man actually said in a state of amazement that he had no idea homosexuals needed a reason to rape….?? and at that point who can find an intelligent person in a mind like that!
After 37 years much of the time I wish I had just taken the pills and left it alone like it always has been….silence,suffering in silence.