“War is an addiction; it’s a curse. We have not learned one thing since David, 5000 years ago, slung a pebble at a guy and killed a giant. All we’ve done is invent better pebbles and better slingshots, human to human.” – Jerry Yellin
CBS Radio broadcaster Beecher Martin interviewed author and decorated WW II P-51 fighter pilot Jerry Yellin. Jerry is the author of the new book The Resilient Warrior: Healing the Hidden Wounds of War (2011). The thirty-minute radio interview was released on 20 February 2011 and broadcast on five CBS radio stations in the Florida Tampa Bay area. (Click to listen to the interview.)
Jerry Yellin serves as the co-director of Operation Warrior Wellness, which is a division of the David Lynch Foundation. In the CBS interview he described his wartime experiences and the difficult transition from combat to civilian life. Like other veterans, Jerry suffered from PTSD, which was not then understood. He discussed how his practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique transformed his life.
Besides his personal experiences of the tragedies of war, Jerry spoke about his goals to immediately start treating our military personnel and veterans who are suffering from PTSD. He also discussed the tremendous stresses that today’s military personnel are experiencing and the difficult time they are having transitioning back from combat. Jerry does not want to wait until the US government addresses these issues. He wants to help military personnel and the families of war veterans immediately. Jerry wants US warriors to learn TM as part of their basic training and says the US government could save $15 billion a year if the practice were adopted.
