Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/98940
Manliness The Art of By Brett & Kate McKay, courtesy of artofmanliness.com Advice From a 92-Year-Old Veteran of WWII on Getting Out of a Dark Place I JOBS for TEAMS | 14 recently interviewed T.I. Miller, a 92-yearold WWII vet who fought on Guadalcanal and New Britain. When it came to war, Mr. Miller had seen it all. Charging banzai attacks. Severed heads. Bloody arms, legs, and torsos.The works. After he came home, a man doesn't forget these things instantly, he said. I asked him what helped.This was his answer: "What helped? My wife and family were a big help, especially my wife, Recie. At the same time, it's something you gotta just do yourself.The secret, I found out, is just to stay busy.There were no government programs to help back then. No therapists to see. Nothing like that. I was born and raised out in the country. So after I came back from the war, I built me and Recie a house out there close to where I'd grown up. I got out there and roamed around in the mountains.That's what helped. One time they closed the mines down for three months. Someone said,"Where you gonna go look for a job." I said,"I ain't. I'm gonna spend the summer out in the sunshine." And I did. I took a two pound double bladed T.J. Miller axe, walked a half mile up above where I lived. We had a field there, and I cut down big trees and cut them into fence posts. All I had was that axe. I made my own mallet and split those trees myself. I got me a half acre of ground, plowed it up, and had a field.That same summer I grew potatoes, corn, and beans.The whole summer I spent growing things I wanted to. I'd be out in the woods at daylight. I just worked like that and built myself back up." JobsForTeams0113_manliness.indd 1 www.jobsforteams.com 12/3/12 3:31 PM