I served in the early 80s— well before the Internet, digital data, and transferring messages over the cloud was a thing. If you wanted to send a message to the front lines, you often had to drive the intel wherever it needed to go. That meant they trained Jeep drivers like me to evade capture as well as to, if captured, NOT break and give up information.

Well, the only way to prepare you to be a P.O.W. is to actually mimic being a P.O.W.

To do that, they captured us…

They masked us up.

They tied us.

They did everything they knew might be done to us if we were captured.

⭐️

The training was hard.

And it left a mark that still exists, decades later.

I still can’t put anything on my face, for instance— not even a motorcycle helmet (I wear an open face helmet).

🏍️

I realized something was going on with “masks and my face” when another Marine tossed a pillow case over my head while I was napping. I jumped up, ready to fight him.

My response didn’t match the “offense.” He was just playing and had no idea what I had been through.

I realized something was going on, years later, when I couldn’t stand wearing eyeglass— because they touched my face. I opted for contacts.

I realized something was going on back in 2020 when Covid happened and every restaurant and store insisted on us wearing masks. I couldn’t do it. Not even for my job.

Politics and other ideas aside…

… I just couldn’t stand having anything on my face.