The Ocampo murders and the hidden cost of war.

The hidden costs of war are far reaching, tragic, and oftentimes will strike in unexpected ways.  Even those among us who cry out against our past and present government warmongering oftentimes fail to see how destruction comes home to roost.  The unintended consequences of war are seldom understood by the masses, but are nonetheless experienced.

Both local and national mainstream media are currently covering the tragic and senseless story of accused serial murderer Itzcoatl Ocampo.  Ocampo, 23, of Yorba Linda, served in the Marines from 2006 to 2010.  According to news reports, his family, friends, and fellow Marines state he returned deeply affected by his experiences in Iraq War.  

The complexity of how war breaks some veterans psychologically cannot be underestimated in this horrible tragedy.  But there is another story here, and that is of Ocampo’s last victim.  Homeless Vietnam Veteran John Berry,  who was 64.  

A sad irony, a man serves in Vietnam, a pointless and stupid war, comes home to eventually be rendered homeless.  To finally be killed by another veteran of another senseless and stupid war many years later.

According to Nation Coalition for Homeless Veterans, approximately one third of the homeless in the U.S. are military veterans, mostly latino and african-american.  A telling statistic indeed.

Ocampo’s killing spree thankfully has been brought to an end.  However, the War on Terror rages on, spreading terror locally, nationally and world wide.

Sources:

The National Coalition of Homeless Veterans.

Read about the Ocampo murders here and here.