When Johnny comes marching home again,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay,
When Johnny comes marching home.

One Life, Four Homecomings

I wonder how many of you SafetyXChange members have returned home from war after serving your country, or greeted somebody who has. In my life, I have been involved in such an experience on at least four occasions. And I've learned a lot from each one.

World War II

The first time I took part in such an affair I was in the cheering section. It was after World War II. There were parades in my hometown of Detroit as neighbors who had served came marching home.

I remember one fellow who lived just two blocks from us who had been through three beach head invasions and years of fighting. He came home with a mess of medals and not a scratch on him. Two weeks after he got home, he was killed in a car crash.

Korea

A few years later, I was the Johnny come marching home. I had served with the First Cavalry Division, Able Company, Fist Battalion, Seventh Cavalry Regiment in Korea and then Japan, 1951-1953. But my homecoming wasn't the same as the ones I remembered from 1945. For some reason, when I came home there were no bands to greet me, no cheering crowds and no parades.

I had a combat infantry badge, a purple heart and a bad attitude. I also had a terrible thirst. The first night home, with the help of a buddy, I managed to total a brand new 1953 Ford Convertible. But unlike that fellow who survived the bullets of WW2 only to be killed in a car after getting home, I was lucky. No one was hurt in my car wreck.

Vietnam

More than a decade later, it was my brother's turn to come limping home from Vietnam after serving two tours there. His homecoming was much like mine. No bands, no streaming banners and no pretty girls dishing out hugs and kisses. And, like I had, my brother came home very thirsty. His thirst consumed him. The war destroyed him and he never recovered. In a sense, he never came home from 'Nam.

Iraq

My fourth homecoming experience was a recent one. I was in Hawaii and had the honor of speaking to hundreds of U.S. Marines returning from Iraq. I delivered six presentations in all. As I spoke, I looked into their faces and thought to myself: "They look so young." What I talked about were my experiences with homecomings. I warned them that soldiers get killed not just during a war but upon returning from one. I wanted to equip those tough-looking Marines to deal with what was to come and help them survive the experience. I specifically warned them about driving under the influence of alcohol.

Sadly, there was one returning Marine who made me look like a prophet. A Lance Corporal. The night after I gave my final presentation, he was out riding his motorcycle on the highway at breakneck speed. Literally. He crashed and the accident proved fatal. Another homecoming casualty.

Reflections

War is hell but coming home can be just as fatal. Over a lifetime, I've had a chance to experience and reflect on the dangers service personnel face when they return from war - about the speed and hormones and alcohol and youth and passions and feeling invincible and a whole lot of other things. I have some answers; but, unfortunately, I do not have all of them. And so, like many of you, I keep on searching for answers.

God bless our troops and keep them safe on the battlefields and at home.

BY THE NUMBERS
The Mental Toll of Iraq and Afghanistan

Self Portrait of Otto Dix, German artist harrowed by his experiences in the trenches of WW I

By Glenn Demby

The modern guerrilla war is in large part a psychological conflict that subjects the troops of the occupying army to terrible mental strains. In many cases, the result is permanent mental damage. A recent study from the New England Journal of Medicine documents the impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on the veterans who’ve returned home after serving in them. Consider the following figures. From October 2003 to February 2005:

• Up to 1 in 4: The number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who were diagnosed at VA hospitals as having mental disorders
• 10: The percentage diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder
• 9: The percentage diagnosed with drug or alcohol abuse
• 7: The percentage diagnosed with depression
• 6: The percentage diagnosed with anxiety disorders such as panic and phobias

Source: New England Journal of Medicine, March 31, 2005

TATTOO SAFETY
A 10-Point Checklist

Tattoo artist plying his trade.

By Glenn Demby

Mercifully, today is the last day of Makeover Week. Let's put this thing to rest by looking at one of the most prevalent and, to me at least, inexplicable trends in cosmetics: the tattoo. If you're into the tattoo thing - or got a kid who is - here's a checklist of safety tips to keep in mind:

1. Make sure the tattoo artist has an autoclave and sterilization certification. The autoclave, by the way, is the pressure cooker used to sterilize the needles.
2. Ask the artist what training he/she has completed. The bad
   news is that there’s no official “Good Housekeeping” seal for tattoo artists.
3. Make sure the artist is wearing gloves and is vaccinated for Hepatitis B.
4. Make sure the artist throws out and doesn’t return to a container ointment, ink, water or other items after using them on a client.
5. Make sure the artist uses new sterile needles and removes them from the autoclave bag in front of you.
6. Make sure the artist destroys and disposes of the needles after using them on you.
7. Ask to see examples of the artist’s work.
8. Leave the bandage alone after the work is done for as long as the artist advises. It’s tempting to check out the new ‘too, but you don’t want airborne bacteria getting in.
9. Gently wash the tattoo with lukewarm water and anti-bacterial soap after you remove the bandage.
10. Keep the tattoo protected from the sun.

Source: About.Com, http://www.about.com/cs/beginners/a/blchecklist.htm

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