Many years ago, while serving in the Army, I had the opportunity to visit the middle east. Our unit consisted of individuals from all walks of life, some younger, some older and we had a few veterans of the Vietnam era. As expected, there was a little bit of stress involved and it affected many people in different ways.
One evening, while under a SCUD alert, I was hunkering down and keeping an eye on the skies. Suddenly, a young soldier rushed up to me. He was out of breath and gesticulating for me to MOVE IT. He managed to communicate the commander needed me right away. Thinking the worst, I gathered my gear and quickly made my way to the commander's tent.
It was revealed to me that a senior non-commissioned officer was experiencing some difficulties. The command group was prepared to evacuate the soldier, the commander requested that I attempt to speak to the man. Not completely understanding the situation, I approached a tent cautiously and heard quiet mumbling. I announced myself and entered the tent.
Within a few minutes I understood the situation and began to quietly speak to the man. His anxiety and agitation began to subside and he was soon able to communicate. Once he calmed down, we spoke for some time and discovered a shared interest. Yep, you guessed it. We were both stamp collectors. He was much older than me, a Vietnam veteran, and suffered an unexpected panic attack.
We continued talking about our shared hobby and he soon opened his footlocker. He pulled out a thick sealed envelope containing quite a few classic stamps from around the world. We reached an agreement and I ended up purchasing some of the stamps from him. Anytime he started to get anxious he called for me. The command group approved of my help and turned a blind-eye when I was unexpectedly called away from my duties. This prevented a difficult situation that would have resulted in a command change in the middle of a combat environment.
We both successfully returned home and continued our stamp collecting association for a number of years. He eventually retired and set up a small stamp business out of his home. He passed away many years ago but the association and unusual circumstance of our meeting remain an important part of my stamp collecting experiences.
Comentarios