In College

By David Beakey

The silence was deafening. He finally noticed it and gazed out at the sea of faces in the classroom. They were young, well-scrubbed faces. At twenty, he was older than many of the other students. And as a veteran, recently discharged and having spent 13 months in a place that they could only imagine, he had little in common with them.

The assignment was simple enough; put together a demonstration/lecture for a freshman public speaking course. But he was uncomfortable getting up in front of others. Hell, he was uncomfortable everywhere. It was hard readjusting. The other students seemed to have no trouble coming up with topics. One of them brought in a giant toothbrush and demonstrated proper hygiene. Another used a flip chart and discussed evolution. Finally he thought of something! He’d put on a first aid display. He asked for a volunteer and laid the young man out on the teacher’s desk. “Just lie there. You have a sucking chest wound.” He bent over him and explained how to use whatever is at hand; say a wet tee shirt to cover the wound, and how to stabilize someone until help arrives. As he spoke, he heard the thumping of the medivac chopper in his mind. He actually got caught up in the moment, so that any stage fright disappeared. His instincts and practice took over and he was feeling more comfortable by the minute, explaining the steps one should take in a case like this.

Suddenly he heard the silence. He looked up and was first puzzled by the quiet shock on many of their faces. He stopped talking. Then it hit him. This is Quincy College, 1969. Maybe these children are not familiar with such things as sucking chest wounds. He quickly composed himself and finished his presentation. But it was at that moment, in that classroom that he learned to keep his memories private. He vowed to only tell such things to those who belonged to that exclusive club that lets in only combat veterans. He learned at that moment that his memories would be kept in a secret place and only brought out when it was safe.