kathryn0907's Journal

I am the full time care giver for my husband who suffers from PTSD and Dementia.  He is a Vietnem Vet who served in the Tet Offensive and Campaigns in Khe Sanh.  He was exposed severely to Agent Orange as he was with "D" Co, 11th Engineer Batalion,3rd Marine Division.  I met him about 3 months after he completed his service time.  The first thing he said to me was" don't ever ask me about Vietnam".  I never did.  He never wanted to talk about any of his service time and I was worried because he drank so much.  I did not realize till 20 years later that he had been suffering with service related PTSD.  7 years ago he was diagnosed with dementia.  He has been getting treatment at a highly reputable center but I never gave the 2 diseases any thought.  Earlier this year I became aware of another Marine with a similiar history and was encouraged to seek help with the VA for him.  We did.  This is the first time since he left the military that he was willing to talk to someone.  I am now interested to see if there are any other Vets with similiar histories.  In requesting his military records,I first became aware of who this man was 40 years ago and what he went through in Vietnam.  We will be married 34 years and I thought I knew who he was but I never understood what experiences he had that shaped who he became.  His dementia is now diagnosed as severe so his language skill have been very impacted.  He can not verbalize to me many of the events that he went through but some key words are still understood.  Does any other Vet out there have any imput or resources for me?  Thanks