“The guilt and moral tension many veterans feel are not necessarily being dubbed as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) any longer, but Moral Injury. Moral Injury refers to the emotional shame and psychological damage incurred when a soldier has to do things that violate their sense of right and wrong.”
I found this mentioned this heartwrenching and powerful post by Benjamin Sledge “The Conversation about War our Veterans Refuse to Have.” It brings back a flood of memories to me, not as a vet, but as the mom of two vets who were in war and came back scarred. I can’t imagine the kind of scars inflicted on our servicemen and women who were forced to make these ugly choices to survive.
This is why I paint. To escape the painful thoughts of these wounds inflicted on so damn many souls.