“Liam, Liam!” Nurse Becky Riley shouted as she shook Liam.
Liam was disoriented when he woke up. Nurse Riley gently touched his shoulder, confirming, “You’re at Walter Reed Hospital. You were having a nightmare.”
“Thanks for waking me up.”
“Sure, was it the same dream?”
Liam nodded yes. He had a recurring nightmare since he arrived at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, three months ago. His chart listed that he was a casualty of an IED explosion that occurred in Najeeban, Afghanistan. Liam’s injuries included a broken femur in his left leg and a closed head injury. An Army Ranger under his command, William “Billy” Buford, age 22, was killed in the explosion.
***
Liam went to physical therapy every day. Another month went by, and then another. Liam recovered slowly. During his last month at the rehabilitation center, he was allowed to go into town for a few hours. In a strip mall, he saw a sign: Tattoo, Ink Artist. He walked in and saw pictures on the walls: dragons, comic book heroes, and Chinese characters. There was a long glass counter along the wall. From the back of the shop, behind a hanging curtain, a female voice welcomed, “Hello, take a seat, and I’ll be out in a few minutes.” He sat in one of the two brown leather recliners, which surrounded a table. The magazines Tattoo Life, Inked, and Inked Girl were on the table. A young man with a beard stepped from behind the curtain and walked to the front of the store. He put some money down on the glass counter before he walked out. A young woman with dark red hair walked out and asked, “How can I help you?”
“I’d like to get a tattoo.”
“What do you want to get.” the woman questioned. She wore a black leather skirt and vest over a white V-neck shirt. She had tattoos on both arms, Chinese characters on the side of her neck, and a vine with flowers on one of her thighs.
“Bethany.”
“Liam”
She sat in the empty chair and probed, “Liam, who is this about or for.”
“A friend. He was a soldier.”
“So, what would you like to say about your friend? What does he mean to you.”
“No one has asked me that before. He could be funny and also serious. He died too young.”
She said sympathetically, “Sorry for your loss. What was your friend’s name?”
“William Buford, but we called him “Billy.” He died in Afghanistan.”
“Do you want the date that he died?”
“No.” Liam pondered, “How about this, just the name Billy in the script, on my left shoulder.”
“Ok, can do. Let’s get started.”
Thirty minutes later, Liam walked out feeling good, memorializing his fellow soldier and friend.
***
Before Liam could be discharged from Walter Reed, he was required to see a psychologist for PTSD. The hospital staff had seen too many tragedies with discharged soldiers. The second-floor office was in the building next door to the rehabilitation center. “Dr. James Hanson, Ph.D./Psy/EdD, Clinical Psychologist.”
“Have a seat.” Dr. Hanson directed Liam to a chair in front of the large oak desk. They sat for a few minutes in silence.
Finally, Liam started, “I don’t know what to say.”
“You can say whatever you want to say. There are no right or wrong subjects. This is a safe place.”
Liam paused and then spoke, “It’s funny, but I was thinking about a middle verse in the poem, A Great Wagon, by Rumi.”
“What were you thinking?”
“Rumi writes about a place beyond the ideas of wrong-doing or right-doing. A place he calls a field, where there isn’t even room to distinguish between each other.”
“What were you thinking about when you thought of that poem.”
“I was thinking about war. About the senselessness of war. Rumi understood.”
“Why did that verse make you think about war?”
“That is how wars start. Two groups of people, of societies, think they are right and the other is wrong.”
“What is it that you understand, Liam?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” Liam concluded.
“Understanding is a tall task, Liam. Sometimes it helps to talk. You’ve had a traumatic experience. You will be discharged soon and have questions about your feelings. If you can face those questions head-on and ask for help when necessary, there is a path to understanding.”
“I’ll remember that.”
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A heavy chapter, and an important one, dealing with the fallout of war. I’d say Liam has a pretty clear view on the usefulness of war, having experienced it. Thank you for this story, Joel!
After retirement he was ordered to be assigned to the Continental Army Command in the event of a national emergency. He submitted a letter, widely circulated that said, in effect, that he was surprised at the assignment in light of his many moral transgressions. But then he thought, we'll in case of an emergency, when all those young men were called to war, who better would be left to comfort all of those abandoned women?
A heavy chapter, and an important one, dealing with the fallout of war. I’d say Liam has a pretty clear view on the usefulness of war, having experienced it. Thank you for this story, Joel!
After retirement he was ordered to be assigned to the Continental Army Command in the event of a national emergency. He submitted a letter, widely circulated that said, in effect, that he was surprised at the assignment in light of his many moral transgressions. But then he thought, we'll in case of an emergency, when all those young men were called to war, who better would be left to comfort all of those abandoned women?