As he swayed in his rocking chair on a rainy Halloween Eve afternoon in his quaint, Tennessee mountain home, Hammond Dean recounts the self-sacrifice he made in the jungles of Vietnam.
Hammond Dean
Private First Class Hammond Dean enjoying the fresh air.
D. W. Ross, a Korean War veteran, VFW member and friend of Dean mentioned, “It’s hard to characterize Ham and I’ve known him for a while now. He always keeps you on your toes but he would give you the shirt off his back if you need it.”
“I enlisted into the corps right before my high school graduation. I didn’t like school too much but it was my mother’s dream that I finish. I never gave college a thought. I remember when I first saw the recruiter I thought he looked sharp in his marine uniform. I wanted that too so I signed my life away,” said Dean.
Dean was born on July 20, 1948 in a small …show more content…
Marines were withdrawn in 1971. He suffered from a gunshot wound from point blank range on the back of his skull. Dean recounted, “I didn’t see him coming. Me and my buddy were doing our daily walk around our perimeter like we always do and Charlie snuck up on me and everything went black.” He is lucky to be alive.
Following being shot, Dean got a metal plate in his head. “Returning to the states wasn’t easy,” he said. His injury kept him from working. Dean noted, “the most difficult thing about coming back home was not coming back to a daily routine and it seemed that nobody cared I was back.” However, Dean got married five years after his return, “most guys that got back got married quick.” Unfortunately, his marriage did not last and he had no children.
As the decades went on, Dean’s posttraumatic stress disorder worsened. “There’s nights when I wake up screaming. It got so bad that I can’t even work anymore. I try not to let it get the best of me but at 67 it’s only going to get worse. I’ve been to therapy before with other vets but that ain’t
Hammond Dean
Private First Class Hammond Dean enjoying the fresh air.
D. W. Ross, a Korean War veteran, VFW member and friend of Dean mentioned, “It’s hard to characterize Ham and I’ve known him for a while now. He always keeps you on your toes but he would give you the shirt off his back if you need it.”
“I enlisted into the corps right before my high school graduation. I didn’t like school too much but it was my mother’s dream that I finish. I never gave college a thought. I remember when I first saw the recruiter I thought he looked sharp in his marine uniform. I wanted that too so I signed my life away,” said Dean.
Dean was born on July 20, 1948 in a small …show more content…
Marines were withdrawn in 1971. He suffered from a gunshot wound from point blank range on the back of his skull. Dean recounted, “I didn’t see him coming. Me and my buddy were doing our daily walk around our perimeter like we always do and Charlie snuck up on me and everything went black.” He is lucky to be alive.
Following being shot, Dean got a metal plate in his head. “Returning to the states wasn’t easy,” he said. His injury kept him from working. Dean noted, “the most difficult thing about coming back home was not coming back to a daily routine and it seemed that nobody cared I was back.” However, Dean got married five years after his return, “most guys that got back got married quick.” Unfortunately, his marriage did not last and he had no children.
As the decades went on, Dean’s posttraumatic stress disorder worsened. “There’s nights when I wake up screaming. It got so bad that I can’t even work anymore. I try not to let it get the best of me but at 67 it’s only going to get worse. I’ve been to therapy before with other vets but that ain’t