The Valkyries of Drummond
The Valkyries first appeared in Norse lore and legends more that 1500 years ago…usually seen as female warriors and messengers of Odin, the Norse god of war. Although sometimes also depicted only as female messengers and were usually dispatched to accompany the spirit of a warrior who had fallen bravely in battle to Valhalla, the great hall of Odin in the heavens….most of us, and certainly me, first became acquainted with these “ladies” from the great helicopter attack scene in “Apocalypse Now”. But the roots of these ladies and their stories, while dating back to Norse antiquity, were really brought into the present age in the works of Richard Wagner, (1800-1867) and his famous operas, “The Ring of the Nibelungen” ….which is a cycle of four operas that he wrote between 1848 and 1874. “Die Walkure” was Wagner’s second opera in the cycle and where we first meet Brünnhilde… the leader of the Valkyries. The movie also gets some inspiration from Joseph Conrad’s novella, “Heart of Darkness”.
Admittedly, most of us…. my self included never heard of Ms. Brünnhilde until she accompanied the helicopters and LTC Bill Kilgore, (Robert Duvall) the commander of the choppers who delivers the memorable line….. especially to those of us who have had the questionable pleasure of smelling it… “I love the smell of napalm in the morning”…. There are lots of mixed metaphors in this movie but I think what is important to us is that we want to make the Valkyrie ranch where you can relax and forget, not only the smell of napalm, but any unpleasant memories of combat. Traumatic Stress can result from any number of frightening events. Some of these can occur, usually unexpectedly, during normal daily activities; normally the event is unique or singular in nature and does not often, if ever repeat itself. For example, most drivers will have an automobile accident at some point in their lives. Last year about 25,000 Americans died in car crashes and while traumatic and sad the other passengers in the car will most often continue with their lives as well as continuing to drive.
Traumatic stress from military service can occur in many different ways but most often in combat situations our actions are responsive to our training. This reactive response in most important in stressful situations and necessary for the continuity of combat command and control. Its purpose is basically two fold; achieving the military objective of the mission and support any medical assistance for those with us that may have been wounded.
While my personal combat experience was almost always in combat with small guerilla units or ambushes yet those of my friends tell of being in pitched WWII type battles with NVA main force units. Each, I think, is different and leaves different types of emotional scars. I was very fortunate when I returned to my family home on the North Shore of Long Island in June of 1969. I spent a couple months at home, grew my hair out, watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon, and attempted to revive my social life at Woodstock. I was most fortunate to also have the support for my memories of Vietnam did fade slowly over the years especially after marrying my wonderful wife, Julia, in 1977.
But our Valkyrie ranch is not Valhalla but rather a real and wonderful place in the beautiful mountains of Montana where we can all try to put some of these more difficult and persistent memories behind us and not repeat and replay them in our minds. “What’s done is done” as Lany MacBeth tells us and there are still great things that we can do for ourselves, our family and our nation…so let’s try to use some time at the ranch to think about.
- Warren Gregory, Vietnam War Veteran & Mental Health Advocate