Last night I had an event with my sorority. One of my sorority sisters brothers had recently come home from Iraq and shared his experiences with us. He was over there for a total of 12 months.
Autumn's brother Christian basically worked as an aid to the Iraqi Police. He would work with them through translators as well as working with the inmates. It was a really strange concept even for him to grasp. He basically was saying that he would have to make sure that the inmates were being treated properly, given enough food and water etc. However, most of these inmates were in jail for having tried to kill American soldiers.
He told us about a time when he and his unit were going to the dining halls for dinner. When they were in the dining hall they heard something fly by them. It was a rocket, that was intended for a Iraqi officials helicopter right outside where his unit was eating dinner. They all evacuated the dining hall and went back to their rooms. They all sat there laughing and joking about the rocket while eating their food. He said it was then he realized just how much he had changed since being there.
He said how he realizes that that isnt normal behavior for people not exposed to this to act so nonchalant about it. My sisters and I sat there listening in silence as he was chuckling about it. Its crazy how people can become so desensitized to such things, which he pointed out to us.
I am always so grateful when I hear about soldiers making it home. I love watching families be reunited, and cry everytime I watch those youtube videos of soldiers coming home. However, I sometimes forget to realize that just because they made it home certainly doesnt mean they are coming home the same person they were when they left. There are constant residual effects of what they have seen over there. Even when they are home for many they are still fighting a battle just now the battle is internal.
I have nothing but utmost respect for soldiers and those who are willing to risk their life for this country and its citizens. I may not agree with this war or with the governments decisions in dealing with it, but I will always support the troops.
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ReplyDeleteThis post literally made me cry. My dad was in Iraq for 21 months and when I was 12 that was the hardest thing I ever had to deal with and still is. My dad left my house December 7, 2002 as the man who was stuck in the 80s, listening to Great White, Poison, Meatloaf and all those other big hair bands. He was a jokester and stuff. In Iraq he was an MP and on a like, mission, the humvee infront of him ran over a landmine and his friend Peter Karlon got scrap metal lodged in his neck and if removed, he would have died so now he permanently has metal in his neck. My dad came home not with the hair bands but with god-awful country music but to this day, will not talk about anything he saw there. He was interviewed by our town paper, and the only thing he wanted to say about it was "It was hot. Like putting on a parka, zipping it up and sitting in your attic on a hot day with a glass of hot water." And nothing else. He's very quiet and contained, he's acting his age now, 42.
ReplyDeleteGood news is that he did come home in one piece and his article made the front page of our town's paper and since I live in Foxboro, good old Bob Kraft sent out 4 tickets to the season opener and his pregame party in his office. I got to sit in his spinny chair :)
But Ashley, I really think that this post was really sweet, those last 2 paragraphs hit close to home and I loved it!
I'm sorry this is so long!
Amanda- Im glad your Dad made it home & he's a hero for going over there <3 I could never deal with half of the things I have heard of people dealing with over there, and certainly not what he went through. Thanks for reading my post & I'm glad that you liked it.
ReplyDeleteI have had an Uncle and two cousins go over to Iraq for at least a year. They are all back home now, but, man...It sure is tough when you have a loved one over there. My Uncle is also my Dad's twin, so he is a very close Uncle. I remember when he was over there, my Dad telling me that he could almost "feel" the his twin brother's thoughts and feelings when he was over there. I wonder if this is true, since they are twins and supposedly twins can feel each-others pain/feelings sometimes.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am really glad to hear about this story and that he came home. He is a true hero in my book!!! All soldiers are.