Let There Be Light Page #6

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stresses that civilians are

rarely subjected to.

In civilian life, you can avoid

serious stresses.

If a civilian, the average

civilian,

were subjected to similar

stresses,

he undoubtedly would have

developed

the same type of nervous

condition

that most of you fellows

developed.

All of us have our so-called

breaking point.

And our survey outside

showed that

civilians on the whole were more

nervous than soldiers.

On Park Avenue, for instance,

where some of your richest

people live,

most of the patients are people

who suffer

from nervous disorders.

And if the doctor won't give

them a pill, why,

they'll go out and say, "Well,

he's not a good doctor."

So therefore they're given

pills,

and they take them at home.

They take these pills at home

because the hospitals are too

full.

If the hospitals were empty,

they'd be in a sanitarium

or so forth.

Having been through a

number of these discussions,

like the other men have, I know

that we have learned the basis

of how we've gotten nervous.

Some of us through combat,

and some of us by not being in

combat.

And I think... and I'm sure that

we have a better understanding

of our conditions, and I'm

pretty grateful of being here

at Mason General Hospital, like

a lot of fellows are.

It just so happens I couldn't

walk.

And they made me walk.

I couldn't walk when I arrived,

and I was here 24 hours, and

they made me walk.

I feel pretty grateful for

getting my limbs back.

But that's what I'm driving at,

is that I know

that when I get out of here, and

the other fellows do too,

we're going to try our best to

make ourselves as best we can.

And we feel more confident to

grasp this nervous situation

that's come about us, and we

want to show people

that we can do things on our own

on the outside,

whether we've been in a hospital

for nerves,

or wherever we've been, whether

we've lost an arm or a leg,

that we can be just as good as

anybody else.

All I want is that they give us

a chance to prove our equality,

like they said they were.

And I hope they keep their

promise.

That's all I hope.

Would you make it a point

to tell your employer

that you were a psychoneurotic?

Well, if he's an

intelligent man,

which most well-known employers

are, that own large concerns,

why he's going to react

the same as any other normal

human being would.

He's going to say, "It's

absolutely plausible,

and the man right now looks all

right.

I'll try him out."

But you may run into

employers

who are not that broad minded,

or intelligent.

Yes, sir.

And I'll sell myself to them.

How about you, Hofmeister?

Do you have any plans about

jobs,

or do you have any fears about

getting a job?

I have no fear

whatsoever.

I've got my job waiting for me,

sir.

You have your job waiting

for you.

I think it comes down to this,

doesn't it--

that most of you fellows feel

that you ought to be honest with

your employer,

that you have nothing to hide,

nothing to be ashamed of?

Isn't that the general attitude?

Yes, sir.

That's the way all the men feel.

Your time in the service

was not entirely wasted.

You have learned a great deal in

the service.

For instance, a great many jobs

and tasks

that you've learned to do in the

service

that you'll have had absolutely

no contact with in the past.

You've also learned to work in

groups,

something that every soldier

learns to do

very early in his military

career.

This definitely will be of much

value to you

in your future civilian

employment.

The weeks have slipped

by fast.

The first strangeness of

hospital life

has become routine.

Sometimes a man learns something

new.

Deranger always did want to play

guitar.

And now the days begin to seem

long.

There's the old healthy sound of

bellyaching in the air--

"Spinach, spinach again."

And, "How about a good movie for

a change?"

And, "How about putting some ice

cream in the ice cream soda?"

No longer is a man shut up

within the lonely recesses of

himself.

He is breaking out of his prison

into life--

the life that lies ahead,

offering infinite possibilities

for happiness and sorrow.

How does a man find happiness?

Is there a secret to discover?

What is the mysterious

ingredient

that gives joy and meaning to

living?

You know in the Bible where

it says,

"Man does not live by bread

alone"?

Children don't grow up well

without safety and confidence.

If that wasn't in one's

childhood, in growing up,

you could say, "Now, there's

something missing

during all that time."

And the next question is how to

supply it.

And it does need to be supplied.

Not all of the learning in all

of the books

is half as valuable in getting

over nervousness

as to find someone that you

esteem,

that you can learn to feel safe

with,

where you can get a feeling of

being accepted, or cherished,

where you get a feeling that

you're worthwhile,

and that you're important to

someone.

You could say the feeding that

you didn't get,

that something more than bread,

when you were little,

you still need to get it.

You still need to be fed with

acceptance,

and to find the safety.

In other words, knowledge alone

is not enough.

Home, Sarge! Home, home!

Nobody got it.

Get up, get up!

Get up, get up and go around!

Eight weeks have

passed.

What about these men?

Are they ready for discharge?

How complete is their recovery?

How about the boy in right

field?

I just didn't care what

happened to me.

How about the kid at

bat?

Foxhole was covered by

dirt.

I was covered up for 29 hours

afterwards, until they found me.

He's out, he's out!

Out! Joe, you're out.

Joe, you're out.

How about the umpire?

Hard for

me to get my words out.

You're out, go on!

Batter up.

How about this kid?

How about him?

Are they well enough to be

discharged?

That is for the doctors to

decide at tomorrow's boarding.

The answer is yes.

Men, this is your last military

formation.

Today you are returning to your

homes,

your families, and friends.

Many of you have been looking

forward eagerly to this day.

But remember that when you

reenter civilian life,

on your shoulders falls much of

the responsibility

for the postwar world.

May your lives as civilians

be as worthy as your records as

soldiers.

Good health, good fortune,

and Godspeed.

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