John Wesley Fisher served on the front lines during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in 1968. He brought home invisible wounds of war and experienced a disconnect with his soul. Following a trigger in later years that left him plagued by jungle nightmares and caused his marriage to break down, he wrote a series of books, including Angels in Vietnam, Not Welcome Home, and The War After The War. Today, John is the director of CORE (Community-Reconciliation Vietnam), a nonprofit organization that supports veterans by organizing trips back to Vietnam.

John joins me today to discuss going home and dealing with the war after the war. He shares how he initially used traveling, surfing, study, and work to keep his mind occupied and avoid thinking about his war experiences. He shares the personal repercussions of the war, including flashbacks and nightmares. We discuss the different avenues of healing, including journaling, and highlight the importance of interviewing psychologists or the people that you choose to help. John also discusses spirituality and reconnecting with your soul and how different cultures support their returning veterans. 

“I never even told anybody I was in the war. I just kept my mind occupied” - John Wesley Fisher

This week on the Stigma Free Vet Zone Podcast:

How traveling provided an escape from the war and gave John time to process his wartime experiencesSurfing in Australia, discovering the chiropractic profession, and John’s commitment to studyingHow the deployment of John's nephew to the Persian Gulf War caused flashbacks, nightmares, and the breakdown of his marriageWhy it is crucial to interview psychologists and find the right person for youFinding help by unloading experiences through journaling and writingJohn's experiences of soul retrieval therapy and finding a connection with himselfExpressing the veteran's point of view in The War After The WarWhy John was compelled to return to Vietnam as part of his spiritual healing processHow to search for the answers that you need and recognizing the roles of family, culture, and destiny in our belief systems

Resources Mentioned:

COREAngels in Vietnam by John Wesley FisherNot Welcome Home by John Wesley FisherWar and the Soul by Edward TickThe War After The War by John Wesley Fisher

This episode is brought to you by…

The Orban Foundation for Veterans is dedicated to bringing greater hope, understanding, resolution, and togetherness on issues of civilian readjustment for all military veterans and their families. Orban Foundation for Veterans promotes the importance of education, identification, understanding, acceptance, and resolution of many of the complex and severe responses to war and military life.

Visit our website to learn more about the Orban Foundation for Veterans and to support our mission.

Helping Veterans & Their Families Transition to Civilian Life

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