When I arrived in Vietnam in 1967, I was attached to a psych unit named by a couple of Latin scholars Pax Mentis: Peace of Mind. I’ve kept that as my sign-off, motto and mission all these years.

Recently I’ve been thinking about the vets that manage to achieve this, and wondering just what allows that to happen. With our focus on returning vets and their issues, the stories of men and women who’ve made the transition back to civilian life successfully go untold. We’ve got a few on our staff. Among them, Wendell Guillermo, who served through two deployments in Iraq with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

If you’ve called our hotline, you might have spoken with this gentle, caring man. If you’ve visited us, you’ve seen him managing some of the admin around here as well as supporting other staff members and me. We couldn’t get along without him.

But that’s not all there is to Wendell, not by a long shot. He’s currently enrolled in school at El Camino College with plans to transfer to Cal State Long Beach to complete his degree.

Like so many others, he enlisted after 9/11, leaving behind Michelle, the girl he was interested in. Two deployments later, he returned to pick up his life where he left it. Michelle was still in Los Angeles. Patient and loving, she played an important part in his transition, supporting his job search, which led to the NVF. They married in August of 2007. Along with family and old friends, several of Wendell’s buddies from Iraq attended, which made a kind of time-bridge between what had felt like two different parts of his life.

Both Wendell and Michelle work full-time and attend school, working toward what Wendell calls with sincerity “the American Dream”...a house and family of their own, work that matters. That their schedules don’t leave much time for dreaming is an understatement, but when they do have time together, they enjoy each other’s company and plan for their future. Wendell keeps fit by practicing martial arts. If you’ve seen him, you know how lean and muscular he is.

So how did he get to where he is? Wendell says the example of his parents, immigrants from the Phillippines is probably the source. They initially worked in the fields when they arrived, emphasized the importance of education to him and his brother, and most of all, they illustrated in their daily lives what it looks like to commit to life and stand up for what you believe and for what you want. Over and over.

Asked what makes him happy, he looks away for a moment, smiling, considering. When he turns back, he says, “What makes me happy is my wife. She's supportive and makes me think critically. She holds me accountable and reminds me of why I'm here.” Sounds like the basis of a long, happy relationship!

I guess the most satisfying thing for me is to have been able to watch this young man make his way back from war, and to build from that experience, a new and rich life.

There are other vets out there who have similar stories. If you know one, share his story with us by posting a comment.

Pax mentis,

Shad