Kendall,
Don't be too hard on your brother. He saw things in Korea that no one was meant to see. We raise our sons to be good decent people then ship them off to defend their country. But let's not talk about disemboweled babies, rapes, lost limbs, burned bodies. Let's not deal with the mind changes brought on by living in fear 24/7. Better it should all fester in their minds than have the general population and our government face reality. War is not pretty or noble or full of strong shining young faces. Its horrors corrupt all who are involved.
John McCain went through years of night terrors and worse before coming to terms with his past. Many are not so lucky. A friend of mine, an ex-Marine and opera singer, told me in a weak moment about hiding in a trench in Korea and hearing his buddies screaming for their mothers. He still wept over it.
Your brother is a good man. He deals with his demons the best he can.
He is one of those we honor on Veteran's Day. The dead ones are remembered as young and strong and good. The living disgrace themselves with drugs and alcohol while we stick them in sub-standard rooms at Walter Reed.
Mary