Robert Wilkie Quotes

Obviously all of us have thought about Vietnam, particularly in my generation in Australia that were part of conscription and fought there. Our friends came back, forever changed. So there were a lot of questions.

Vietnam was my nightmare for a good ten years.

You know, veterans come home and they may not be bipolar, but after they've been through a war with PTSD or a head injury, their families have a handful when they come home.

You come back from war, and you have a certain authority to talk about war.

When I came back from Vietnam in 1965, I just had the greatest brainwashing anybody could get…

The notion that war forever separates veterans from the rest of mankind has been long embedded in our collective consciousness.

As we face an epidemic of veteran suicides, we must make sure that all of our returning servicemembers are honored and taken care of, no matter the wounds they bear.

My father was one of the first six guys ashore on Iwo Jima. He's 86 years old now, and every single night of his life, he has nightmares, and he wakes yelling.

You don't have to be in Nam to be in Nam.

When I first came back from Iraq, I of course found myself thinking a lot about it. Not just my experiences, but those of people I talked to, friends, and colleagues.

The Vietnam War totally turned my life around. Some people's lives were eliminated or destroyed by the experience. I was one of the fortunate few who came out better off.

My father had gone to Vietnam.

I talked to some vets in L.A. about what they go through and do they think about their experiences a lot. I got a wide array of answers. Some people get very emotional, which is understandable. Two of my best friends growing up are in the armed services, and getting to represent those guys was a big honor for me.

The civilian wants to respect what the veteran has gone through. The veteran wants to protect memories that are painful and sacred to him from outside judgment.

I have been wounded altogether twenty times; eleven of these wounds were received at Northfield.

As one who participated in all the wars of the state of Israel, I saw the horror of wars. I saw the fear of wars. I saw my best friends being killed in battles. I was seriously injured twice.

I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can.

Nobody hates a war more than soldiers who have been through it.

We do a very good job at fixing broken bodies but not such a great job at healing broken minds with our returning veterans.

My grandparents were deeply affected by war, and it was obvious that the men who fought were horribly affected, as were the women who remained at home.

There were a lot of hard times, and having to have a team of people help me out of the bed, having to use a bedpan is a really tough thing to swallow. But looking back, I'm proud of my scars and what myself and my Marines went through in Marjah.

I knew for years I wanted to write a novel that addressed the personal trauma of my older sister, who suffered - and still suffers - from mental illness. For a long time I imagined - and I know it's absurd - that she was an indirect casualty of the Vietnam War.

In 2012, I got hit by an IED in Afghanistan.

Both of my grandfathers served in World War II, both in the Pacific. One wouldn't talk about it, and one would.

Well, look at what people are doing for returned veterans now. The wounded warriors. They're working hard to make the wounded veterans feel that they are loved and welcomed home, unlike Vietnam. It was not a very kind, gentle world then. I think we are kinder and gentler.