A Destiny of Memories

The story of a young marine who returns from Vietnam to find that he has lost everything that he thought he was fighting for. It is as relevant today as it was then. Fire and Rain charts the dark world of the mind and explains why so many veterans never left Vietnam. This edition includes Phoenix Rising, which continues the story. It deals with PTSD and the effect of combat on young men.
Author's note: Unlike other memoirs, this book is not written in the first person until the very end. Have. I used the “I” identification, and “Tim” takes up his civilian life again... The reason for this can be understood now when we know PTSD Dissociation is a necessity that is born out of survival. Dissociation is put in place to protect the still-functioning parts of yourself when you go through trauma. Therefore, “Brad” is the personality born out of a need to survive in Vietnam and protect “Tim” from the horrors of war, with which he, as a patriotic 18-year-old, could not cope. The result is that Tim gave up a sense of integrity to survive and deal with the trauma of war and death by disconnecting and becoming “Brad,” allowing Tim to deal with emotions of anger, fear, sadness, grief, guilt, and shame, blame, and self-reproach, by assuming the identity of “Brad,” the brutal Marine killer.