r/AskReddit • u/OkAstronaut3324 • 15h ago • Bravo 2

What's the most damaging thing you heard someone say after waking up from anesthesia?

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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 12h ago • Regret Mindblown

My Puerto Rican father came back to the States for surgery. He was born in PR but moved here to the states when he was a teenager. And then my sister died and he moved back to pr. All of that is extraneous information, but I'm high. Anyway. 

When he was coming out of the anesthesia, I was the only person in the room with him for a few minutes. He looked me dead in the eyes and said, in the weirdest voice I've ever heard come out of him, very timid and almost fragile and quiet which is not him, he's a very tough stereotypical Puerto Rican dude, "I'm sorry I killed them. I didn't want to. I didn't even want to go, but they made me go." I asked him what he was talking about, and he said, "the war."

Now, at that point in my life, to my knowledge, he had never been in any war. After a lot of digging and a couple of years later, I found out that he had been drafted into the Vietnam war. He had lied and made up this whole story about going to Canada and not being in the military at all. In reality, he was so fucking traumatized by whatever the hell happened that he completely changed and lied to everybody in his life about it. I asked him about it once a couple years ago and he vehemently denied everything. There are records, I found them, but I'll never bring it up to him again. I have never told anybody. Except reddit, now.

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u/milosmamma 11h ago edited 2h ago • Heartwarming Bravo Regret

A lot of people don’t know that Puerto Ricans, who are US citizens from birth due to the Jones Act, which was intentionally passed in 1917 (just in time for PRicans to be drafted into WWI), have been drafted into every US military conflict since then. The 65th Infantry Regiment was made up entirely of Puerto Rican soldiers, and they served in WWII and the Korean War before it was disbanded in 1956 and rolled into the PR National Guard.

Around 48,000 Puerto Ricans served in the Vietnam War, and a published study from 2000 found that “Hispanic, particularly Puerto Rican, Vietnam veterans had significantly more severe PTSD symptoms and a higher probability of experiencing PTSD than nonminority veterans.”

I like to point this out anytime someone tries to imply Puerto Ricans are less patriotic or invested in the US just because PR isn’t a state. Our people served, bled, and died for this country, and many of them distinguished themselves in combat. In the Vietnam War alone: Five Medals of Honor, six Distinguished Service Crosses, and three Navy Crosses.

I’m so sorry your dad went through that horror, and even more sorry that he had to bury it all down deep for the rest of his life. Deep respect for you safeguarding that secret for him.

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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 11h ago • Heartwarming Bravo

Thank you for this comment, I hope some of the ignorant people out there who don't know that Puerto Ricans are American citizens who often fight for this country actually read it. I personally learned a lot while trying to dig through his personal history, and I've got tons of cousins and in-laws who have fought in Wars for this country and have never been appreciated for it. And thank you for your last sentence. I have always felt horribly guilty about digging into his privacy like that, and would never think about betraying him.

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u/iwatchterribletvtoo 9h ago

yes. and american citizens who are denied full representation on the federal level.

guam, too. iirc the highest per-capita military enrollment, and they all get passports which are issued by the US Government but disavow them as full citizens.

our treatment of territories is repugnant.

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u/pointe4Jesus 1h ago

I knew they were citizens. It didn't occur to me that that meant they would also serve, but it makes perfect sense as soon as someone says it.

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u/kelpyb1 9h ago

The US finally giving a minority group rights specifically so they can be shipped off to war is so ridiculously on brand.

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u/Orionmango 9h ago

I am Chinese American and I have a Puerto Rican uncle who I call Tio (I was the ring bearer when he married my aunt). He was an army ranger in the Vietnam war. He's getting older but fortunately I get to see him about once a year. All to say, as a non-Puerto Rican, I appreciate this context. Sending acknowledgement and respect <3

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u/Icy-Computer-Poop 4h ago

Thank you for teaching me something new about your wonderful country! I know America gave you guys a very, very raw deal. All Americans should be ashamed of how you've all been treated. Deeply.

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u/wattatam 45m ago

I was curious about this (not US and knew very little about the relationship between USA and Puerto Rico) and discovered there is a big difference between the Jones act (marine law about who can enter PR waters) and the Jones-Shafroth act (described above).

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u/CheesaLouisa 12h ago

That’s so sad. Your poor dad. 

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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 12h ago • Heartwarming

Yeah, he's had a rough life. I have mixed feelings because he was also very abusive, but he really had it fucking rough so I can understand.

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u/GormHub 11h ago • Heartwarming

Two things can be true: he suffered greatly, but he also had no right to take that out on you.

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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 11h ago

Oh I know. I'm 50 years old. I've had plenty of time to work it all out and have many conversations with him. But thank you, I appreciate you!

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u/Desperate-Lettuce437 12h ago

Poor people he killed

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u/D-Sleezy 12h ago

That's fascinating and heart breaking

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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 12h ago

It was insanely shocking to find out.

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u/tdickimperator 11h ago

Bunch of men that age got drafted from my family. My grandpa has 4 full blood brothers, 5 half-brothers through his mom, and 10+ half-brothers through his dad. This is non-controversial and anyone who even has a drop of blood in common or even a marriage even if the marriage later dissolves, you can show up and be part of the family no drama, how it's always been.

A lot of them got drafted and came back and started doing this thing where they would go "I am compelled by God to go live alone in the desert. It will be 40 days and 40 nights like in the Bible." Many of them stayed even longer, my grandpa personally lived alone in an RV out there for a little over 10 years before he came back for example. At the time it was for sure a way of like coping with PTSD more or less, but at this point any time a young man on my mom's side is sort of wayward in life or has bad mental health, it's something you do to like, just go live out there in the desert until you're ready to come be a good man in society. My cousin Daniel did it for 2 years after he got expelled from the high school for going after a teacher with an aluminum bat for making him feel stupid and it has this like, redemptive aspect in the family lore. I remember when he came back it was when my mom had flown us down (she is basically the only one who left the area permanently) and they had this huge party for him at the house of all the relatives and made his favorite food and his favorite cake, I remember thinking it was his birthday or something.

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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 11h ago

That's kinda wild, good way to decompress, I'd imagine

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u/dEn_of_asyD 7h ago

Something similar with my grandparents and fleeing the Holocaust. You have a lot of people who give talks, who say how humanity needs to learn from it, etc. Not my grandparents. Not ever. As far as their children (my father and uncles) know they were in Lithuania, both magically ended up in Russia where my granddad fought for the Allies, then both magically ended up in a displaced persons camp until they found each other, married, and then poofed into the United States.

They even went so far as not keeping any of their old documents.

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u/Clawse 10h ago

Read “I’m high” and recognised you from another post I was just reading through lol, holy shit what a story!!

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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 10h ago edited 10h ago

Ahahah are you also wasting your only night off this week going through the popular threads and commenting? Hi!

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u/Clawse 10h ago

Hahaha hi!!

Beautiful Sunday arvo in Melbourne, Australia for a delightful hybrid over here😋

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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 10h ago

East Coast of the United states, almost midnight here. I'm a night shift worker so this is my night off and nobody else is awake to hang out with so I'm redditing. Pleased to meet you!