The Summary of Tilly’s War: The War Within

Tilly as he was called by his wartime air crew, returned home and went back to work to put the war behind him and get on with life. He would have a family of his own, raising three children on near poverty wages and suffered from alcoholism and depression most of his life while his family suffered the effects of life’s challenges. Much later in life, he began talking about his wartime experiences and this would help him to readjust to life as he knew it. However, returning to alcohol would bring him and his family hardships that would be difficult to reconcile. Every person who served in a combat role feels the effects of war and deals with those effects in varying degrees of tolerance. Many returning veterans restore their lives and go on to become productive members of society, but never forgetting their combat experiences.

Many go on to college and become successful professionals in their fields of endeavor and lose the effects of war it would seem. And yet, others, go on to a satisfied blue-collar work life and put the war behind them as well. But there are those who feel the effects differently and struggle with the sense of abandonment, depression, survivors guilt and grief. Those feelings seem to always return in life as constant reminders.

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