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Belongs to: Therapist and Vocalist react to One By Metallica
That particular song touched me a lot from the moment I first heard it, even before I knew its meaning, especially from the first time I saw the video, at that time I was only about 12 years old… Now I’m a retired soldier, I was in the Army for 20 years, and I saw many comrades lose legs and different parts of the body and now that I’m no longer in the Army and I see the video again, I feel it more personal and it gives me a lot of feelings of sadness for my fallen friends.
First of all, I want to thank you for devoting your life to serving our country. The compassion that you have for all of the veterans that have lost their lives to protect this country indicates that you are a man of love and honor and that is the highest badge any man can wear. Thanks for your service!
First of all thank you so incredibly much for your service. I couldn’t even imagine some of the things that you and other warriors have seen while deployed. I’ve heard many stories like yours remembering their fallen friends and comrades in battle, whether it be on the physical battlefield or the mental battlefield.
It’s okay to feel sadness for your fallen friends. One of the best things i’ve heard from a soldier, ironically enough at a Metallica show in Chicago, was when we were leaving and it had been his first time seeing them, just coming home from deployment. He broke down seeing something that reminded him of a friend he lost just a few weeks prior. He said “The reason that flag is flying is because it’s being blown by the breath of our friends lost in combat”. That hit me so hard but it’s 100% true
I can only imagine how especially deep this song must resonate with your heart. To picture this soldier in a pain that is so intertwined with loneliness/isolation at the same time. It makes a profound difference when you understand that kind of experience out of your own story.
It makes so much sense to think and reflect back on the people you’ve known that are not here anymore or were hurt in combat. People you’ve learned to know personally, saw life in them, then witnessed how wounds and war ended up affecting their life, the life of the people who love them, and who they are as well. It’s hard to feel for the people you are attached to, to see the pain they endure and to feel it with them. It pushes you into this position of witness, where helplessness and sadness can hit so quickly and so easily. It makes you reflect on how things could, or should, have been. It’s painful to face the same brutal reality over and over.
I hope that, somehow, reflecting back and allowing yourself to feel this sadness has brought a bit of catharsis for you. So often our first reaction is to push those emotions away - for they are too heavy, too painful, too uncomfortable. You did well by sitting down and allowing yourself to name those emotions and experiences, reaelly. It may seem insignificant at first to comment on a video like this, but by doing so you’ve offered a gift to yourself. It’s a beautiful gesture for this heart of yours that has things to feel and say - and they absolutely deserve to be listened to.
May your fallen friends rest in peace, and may you keep on embracing the strength that lives in your own vulnerability. Sending much love to you, friend.