Jim Garrett reflects on life and war
By Victoria Hosey
Looking at Jim Garrett in his room at the Mississippi Veterans Home in Oxford, Mississippi, it is hard to imagine the man in a hospital bed surrounded by pictures of his grandchildren as a machine gun operator. But as he will let you know, he has seen more than his fair share of violence.
Now 84-years-old, Jim Garrett served for 10 years as a private first class in the fifth missile battalion, 40th artillery during the war in Vietnam- an experience that for many years, scarred his psyche and haunted his dreams. It has taken most of his life to be able to tell others about his experiences.
“His family said he wouldn’t talk about it before coming here, but now he will,” said nurse Natalie Wood, a Licensed Practical nurse at the Veterans Home in Oxford who has known Garrett for over five years.
“People would ask me questions about stuff I didn’t want to talk about, so I just wouldn’t talk,” said Garrett.
Another coping strategy Garrett used to occupy his mind was to throw himself into work.
“If you’re having trouble with it, the best thing to do is to go and work,” said Garrett. “I would work for 15, 16 hours a day sometimes.”
After hearing his story, it becomes to easy to understand why Garrett was hesitant for so many years to share it with others.
“I was in a missile battalion,” said Garrett. “My job was to fire that missile and operate a machine gun. If something moved, I pulled that trigger whether I knew what it was or not. I didn’t take chances at it.”
Like so many others who served in Vietnam, Garrett was forced to commit violent acts for the sake of survival, along with seeing many of his friends killed in action.
According to statistics provided by the National Archives, over 58,000 people perished during the War in Vietnam. The Vietnam War is the fourth deadliest war in United States History, only behind the Civil War, and World Wars I and II. In comparison, only 3990 people have died in the Iraq War.
“You hate to see any of your friends go down,” said Garrett. “But that’s the way war is.”
According to Garret, it is easier to get swept up in the violence of the moment than one might think.
“If you don’t learn to like it, you’re not going to make it,” said Garrett. “If you don’t, you’re going to let them have a chance to shoot you first… I wasn’t like that.”
Nurse Wood said that having witnessed mass atrocities is not uncommon for residents in her wing of the Mississippi Veterans Home. According to Wood, even for those who suffer from mental deterioration due to Dementia or Alzheimers, the things they have seen at war are still some of the last to remain in their minds at the end of their lives.
“It’s amazing what some of them can remember,” said Wood. “They’ll come up with something out of the blue and you’ll be like ‘Wow, where did they come up with that?’”
According to Mississippi Veterans Home Activities Director Jovette Johnson, the age and experience range in the Veterans Home spans multiple generations and wars, with the youngest resident only being in their forties, and the oldest a World War II veteran of 101.
“We have a few World War II veterans,” said Johnson. “Most of our residents are Vietnam veterans.”
“They’ve been through so much more,” said Wood. “Especially the guys who’ve been to Vietnam. The World War II guys, they were heroes. But the Vietnam guys, people saw them as baby killers and everything else… and they have a lot of post-traumatic stress disorder… They deserve so much more respect.”
Now, towards the end of his life, Garrett said he can finally feel a sense of peace. Not only does he feel at ease with his past, but he also feels now that it is important not to forget the events of wartime.
“You don’t want it to happen again,” Garrett said simply.
