World War II veteran Eddie Livingston came back from five European campaigns, seven wounds, and a year of being a P.O.W. who barely survived, to abject neglect from his own government and countrymen. Livingston and his wife lived for 30 years with no lights and no running water, in a home overrun by filth and in complete disrepair -- but also, truly off the radar of anyone's concern. No one knew the extent of their suffering, and from Livingston's perspective, his government turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.
Livingston wrote: "'Government' used us, and when the war was over...'government' declared war on us. Our 'usefulness' was over...many of us were 'abandoned' to a fate worse than war." "I came out of service with my health shattered," he wrote. "I had no 'job skills' had I been able to work. My folks took care of me...or I would (have been) dead. I only how to 'soldier.' (And) there was no demand for my services. A V.A. doctor told me to go home and 'shoot myself' as a relief to my government. Perhaps I should (have)," he wrote.
Editor's note: To read more of Eddie's writings, click on the "An American Veteran" link, here.
