Walmart’s campaign ‘Greenlight A Vet’ asks people to turn their porch lights green in support of veterans for Veterans Day. However, the campaign backfired when the green lights began triggering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in some veterans.
“It was like fighting in Fallujah at night,” said Sgt. Jack O’Neill. “It was terrible. I was afraid to drive down my own street with all the damn green lights surrounding and suffocating me. Why God, why?”
The green lights, intended to show patriotic support, actually created a night goggle vision type display that brought back terrible memories to many veterans who fought in Iraq and Afganistan. It became overwhelming for those suffering from PTSD. Many soldiers fought during night patrols when they could have the upper hand on the poorly equipped terrorists. However, that was not always the case.
O’Neill spoke of his unit fighting off dozens of al-Qaeda in the middle of the night. “We had four of us left. Scott had injured Jimmy on his shoulders as we raced to the extraction point. We were fighting for our lives. All we had left was a round of ammunition and our blood-soaked night vision goggles. It was absolute Hell. Why would Walmart want us to relive that?
“Just when I thought my PTSD episodes were over, Walmart brings them back. What does the company have against me and other veterans?”
Walmart spokesperson David Tobal apologized for the accidental PTSD triggers by telling the Military Times, “The Greenlight a Vet program was meant to bring awareness to veterans and our everyday low prices on green lightbulbs.
“We usually only sell green light bulbs for Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day but our marketers thought we could squeeze another sales day in November. Our plan to profit from a good cause backfired on us, and we apologize to those affected.
“We plead with our veterans to continue to shop at Walmart and not at Target. Target is for terrorists and liberals. We’ll pick a different color light next year, but we are starting to run out them with all the other causes going on. Maybe the color red could work; I don’t see anything controversial with that choice.”