A compassionate man …

This is a picture of Judge Lou Olivera of the Cumberland County Veterans Treatment court in Fayetteville, NC. Ft. Bragg is in this district and it is also very close to where I live. It is seldom that I hear anything heartwarming about this area but this is the exception and I can't wait to relate it to you.

It happened last week when a veteran who had served three tours of duty in Afghanistan came before the judge for violating the terms of his probation. The man was shaking and appeared to the judge to be suffering from PTSD. He knew that he had to sentence him but, as he studied him he was reminded of a story that he had read. 

It was about a soldier with PTSD who had fallen into a deep hole. His family and a therapist had thrown a rope down to him but the vet was too upset to understand what to do. Finally a fellow veteran jumps into the hole with him. The suffering soldier asks, “why are you down here?” and the fellow vet replies “I am here to climb out with you.”

Judge Olivera decided to sentence the man to an overnight stay in the local jail, and then, to the surprise of everyone, he joined him there. They sat side by side on the cot in the cell and talked all night. After spending that time with the judge the suffering vet had this to say: “I cannot even put into words how I feel about him. I look at him as a father. I've seen a lot of things and this is by far the most compassionate thing I've ever seen anyone give to anybody. I will never let him down again.”