Vietnam vet quiets mind by gifting others
CENTER TWP — While Bill Barbary was working as a union pipe fitter before retirement, the demons he took on as a young infantryman during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam were kept at bay because he was busy working and raising his family.
Then after he retired, the horrors of combat rushed back in the form of flashbacks and nightmares.
A visit to VA Butler Healthcare six or seven years ago revealed a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Barbary, a burly, comedic husband, father and grandfather, decided he needed a hobby in addition to his usual hunting.
So he began scouring the woods for fallen limbs of just the right thickness and shape.
For about a year and a half, former Army Sgt. Barbary, 198th Brigade, 5th of the 46th Infantry, Troop D, has been fashioning those limbs into canes and walking sticks, which he gives away to veterans, local sports teams and others.
“This helps keep my mind busy,” Barbary said from his home of more than 50 years in Northview. “It takes my mind off what I went through.”
Barbary's canes can be viewed on Facebook by searching “Canes for Vets by BB.”
This is an excerpt — read more about Barbary in Sunday's Butler Eagle.
