Guest blog from retired nurse Sue Nelson

Our wonderful new friend, Sue Nelson, shares her thoughts after viewing I MARRIED THE WAR at this year’s annual reunion of USAF Vietnam Security Police Association members in Phoenix, Arizona.

We recently had the opportunity to view the film “I Married The War” with a group of fellow Air Force Vietnam Veterans and their families.

Testimonials from 11 women told their heartbreaking experiences of living with a Veteran returning from a war. Describing how they endured and survived with the help of various resources.

We can’t begin to comprehend the mental anguish combat Veterans endure when they’re deployed to the harsh reality of a conflict zone, or their mental conflict upon returning stateside to what used to be their normal.

The brain is a complex organ that receives information from external and internal information and then digests it for our minds to comprehend. For some people, the negative information can overpower the positive, causing stress which, without help, can really disturb a person’s thoughts.

PTSD and traumatic brain injuries are real and difficult to manage. There are resources available, but this documentary is a compendium of true stories spoken with heartfelt meaning which encourages families not to give up, use the mental health resources available, and to take care of themselves.

After the film we knew the audience was listening and hearing when a Veteran asked, “How can we help our wives.”

Thank you to Ken and Betty Rodgers for producing this film. We highly recommend it to everyone.
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Sue Nelson, the wife of an Air Force Vietnam Veteran, lives in beautiful SE Minnesota where she worked for 50 years as a nurse in a variety of small, medium and large hospitals/medical centers and a VA facility in Wisconsin. She is an active member of Vietnam Security Police Association’s (VSPA) women’s group, known as the Sisterhood (wives, mothers and daughters). Sue is a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend who will always be a healthcare provider for her family and friends, and will forever be passionate about advocating “the needs of the patient always comes first.”