When you look in Lawrence Keating’s eyes you would never expect what they have seen. His carefree smile casually masks his trauma. At 17 years old Larry, as his friends call him, enlisted in the United States Army. While stationed in Okinawa he volunteered to go to Vietnam.
Quote of Larry being on the boat coming in for the first time. Take 0239.
They had trained me to drive trucks but they put me on a boat. I got on this boat that had tons and tons of ammunition and the first mission was to go into the city of HUE which had been overrun in the ICOR. It was terrifying just to go up there because when I was in the center where they send you nobody wanted to go to ICOR and that’s where I went. We got into the city of HUE and there had been a major battle there and the dead Americans where coming across the Perfume river in sandpans hanging out of them. As they got to the ramp where we were unloading the ammunition they were being thrown into 2 ½ ton trucks because that’s
Larry served his country for two years and then at the age of 19 he returned home…”Coming home and the lights”…What complicated Larry’s return was that he brought a severe drug and alcohol problem with him.
At his lowest point he lived on the street and was arrested multiple times. But then he found Diana. She knew what it was like to support a returning solider as both of her brothers also served in Vietnam. The two married and left Brooklyn for Long Island. Larry and Diana tried to normalize their lives but Larry’s monsters still controlled him.
Quote of Larry talking about the 3rd DWI. Takes 0245-0246.
While Larry’s face is able to hide his journey, Diana laughs that every line on her face shows hers. You can see the wear Larry’s demons have put her through. The house they live in now has been decorated by Diana’s heart. It is a little funny to see Larry sitting on a couch flanked by two paintings of birds.
Quote from Diana talking about her troubles.
Upstairs is Larry’s part in decorating. Hanging above the staircase are three stuffed fish. Fishing calms Larry. There is something interesting about Larry’s love for his boat. As a man who spent the most influential two years of his life on a boat on the Perfume River fearing for his life Larry still has to be on the water. He calls his boat MORE THERAPY.
