A story appeared in the Veterans Day issue of the Albert Lea Tribune titled “A Soldier’s Story,” by Elton Mertes. It’s about a 19-year-old Vietnam War soldier dealing with the horrors of war. That soldier is my husband.

Elton is a wonderful father and grandfather, a loving husband to me (for over 38 years) and an accomplished writer. He enjoys sharing his stories with my mom, who also writes. She was so touched by “A Soldier’s Story” that she submitted it to the Albert Lea Tribune — not only to present an especially poignant side of war but as a tribute to her son-in-law, who has overcome overwhelming odds to be the man that he is today.

Elton didn’t write his story for the Tribune. He didn’t intend to have it published or to distribute it as a commentary on war. He writes what he feels when he feels it. Imagine our surprise when the story was almost immediately met with criticism from a fellow Vietnam War veteran, Steve Sorenson of Alden. I asked Elton if I could please respond because it needs to be done — not just for him but for all veterans who have had a hard time coping with war.

Sorenson is upset, apparently, that Elton even wrote the story and equally upset with the Albert Lea Tribune for printing it. I thought our soldiers were fighting to protect the freedoms Americans enjoy — the freedom of speech and expression and the freedom the Tribune has to print stories like Elton’s. Isn’t that what Sorenson fought for?

So what has Sorenson so upset? According to Elton’s story, U.S. soldiers used drugs while serving in Vietnam. Sorenson insists that, in fact, very few did. He claims those who turned to drugs or alcohol to numb the horrors of war “chose an easy way out” while he chose to “do the right thing.”

My husband carries a deep scar on his leg that earned him the Purple Heart, among his other citations. Elton was in a Special Operations force. No one could imagine what he went through over there except the 20 other men in his Army unit. But along with the nightmares, Elton has very dear memories of these men — they were his friends, his brothers, his family — and he had their backs. He performed his duties with honor, which was a challenge for a 19-year-old boy drafted into a seemingly unending hell.

Contrary to Mr. Sorenson’s belief, the simplest research verifies rampant drug use among U.S. soldiers in Vietnam. Our government looked the other way while massive amounts of drugs were distributed throughout the black market in Southeast Asia.

By 1968 drug use by American troops had reached epidemic proportions. Fighting was fierce and casualties were high. The U.S. government knew the troops needed something to calm them.

There’s no difference today, according to Time Magazine and the American Medical Association. Our own government distributes daily doses of sleeping pills, anti-depressants such as Prozac and Zoloft and the anti-anxiety drug Clonazepam to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to “help them cope.”

Are these soldiers to be condemned as well? I hope not. Are they choosing an “easy way out”? Or are mind-numbing pharmaceuticals somehow more acceptable? These drugs weren’t available during the Vietnam War or the government would have dispensed them then for the same reasons.

Elton never touched drugs before Vietnam. He was a college student with a 4.0 grade-point average when the government drafted him into the Army. When he returned from Vietnam, he was broken. We met shortly after, and for 38 years we’ve been putting the pieces back together. He’s doing fine now, which is more than can be said of many Vietnam War vets.

I’m sorry so many men have seen the horrors of war and carry the horrible memories of death and of friends lost. For Sorenson to suggest that soldiers who turn to drugs in order to cope with war aren’t “doing the right thing” shows a true lack of compassion and understanding for his “Vietnam brothers” and for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There is no right or wrong here. Our soldiers did, and are doing, the best they can in unimaginable situations. It’s sad we can’t all show a little more compassion for those who struggle to this day to overcome the pain and addictions that are a residue of war.

Paulette Mertes lives in West Hartford, Conn., with her husband, Elton Mertes. They are former Albert Lea residents.