Soldier Held in Afghan Massacre Had Brain Injury, Marital Problems

[Alcibiades]

47. My dad was one of those

Not a bad person, just a self-centered narcissis: a mix of 65% Robert Duvall's character in Apocalypse Now and 35% of George C. Scott's character in The Great Santini. Loved Vietnam so much he spent pretty much my entire childhood there: two long tours and three short tours.

Though he now says he suffered from some PTSD, the truth is he came out OK. He just wasn't the sort who was particularly bothered by what he did, the danger to himself or even his own injuries. Anyone he killed was by definition the enemy and that was that: the only thing that seems to bother him was watching his friends die, particularly the ones suffered in gruesome ways.

Still, while he wasn't a good father, he's not a bad sort. Probably the worst thing he does is to cheat on his wives. Most folks, I think, regard him as sort of charming. I really don't think he's a sociopath, though: he's just not that deep.