Vietnam War Veteran Makes The Most Of His Post-War Life

A Vietnam War Marine Veteran says those who have suffered a traumatic incident during a time of war, can either continue to find a way to make the best of what they still have, or let the incident destroy them.

On Wednesday (Veterans Day 2015), Bill Wedekind was the guest speaker at the Veterans Day Scholarship Presentation Ceremony at Casper College.

Two weeks before his 19th birthday, he was serving in Vietnam when he lost both eyes, one ear and both hands.

He says he is still not entirely sure what happened, and doctors didn't expect him to survive, but he did.

Since then he has had a successful career in pottery.

He says there were ways in which the war incident could have ended him indirectly, however he wasn't ready to leave the world just yet.

"If I would've decided, 'oh well, poor me,' I'd have been dead 40 years ago, because I would've lost my will to live. Instead, I didn't, because I wasn't willing to quit, and I decided, 'Hey, I'm going to make the best out of what I got left.' It's been wonderful, whereas if I had felt sorry for myself, turned to self pity, drugs and alcohol would've come into it, I'd be dead. I've had a wonderful life. It's been in the dark, but eh...so what?"

Wedekind will be speaking at a pottery class on Thursday afternoon (November 12th) at Casper College.

He currently resides in Texas.