First off go see Sgt. Grumpy . He needs some help!
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Joseph Patrick Dwyer.
I am sure you have heard about this young soldier's death five years after he left Iraq. He succumbed to his demons and killed himself. It was all over the news...much like this 'iconic' picture from 2003.
Most think they know the story...just another typical PTSD couldn't hack it so he offed himself. How sad. story.
But these articles may lend some insight into this young man and into the photojournalist who took this picture.
Read the articles.
Remember this young man and those like him.
Remember that no two stories about soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen who bring home wounds you can't see, will be the same.
Finally, remember them and their sacrifices.
Remember.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/%20wp...8071102390.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/%20wp...8071102328.html
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Again...Go see Sgt. Grumpy as well. He needs some help!
Katana, over at Belleau-Wood is a 2LT, serving her country and sharing her new husband with Iraq for the next 15 months. She wrote a post which I am having her guestblog here. I hope hearing her perspective on the impact we can have on one another will move us to continue to act on behalf of our countrymen one at a time. For more information on how to do that please see the links at the end of this post.
Morale = Letters from Home
While training in Fort Lewis, WA I had the pleasure of being guided by an officer who honed my leadership compass and showed me what good, humble leadership could do for a platoon. He taught us how to be good leaders, how to know the difference between spot-checking and micro-managing and how to take care of our soldiers without turning into parents.
One of the many lessons he taught us was that a soldier's morale depended on the Letters from home. He said it casually, and I gave it little thought, but as the long days and longer nights passed I came to realize how right he was.
The first week, I got no letters. Not having any word from home wasn't so bad.
The second week, I got no letters. My heart would leap, then sink as each mail call yielded no letters for little Katana.
The third week, letters came in earnest as the mail from my boyfriend in Korea had finally crossed the ocean and made its way to Fort Lewis. Each time my name was called for mail call, I felt such giddiness! Letters meant someone took time out of their day to write and mail something to you. Letters meant someone thought about you. Letters meant someone cared about you even though I had been displaced from reality and put in an environment that was away from my loved ones.
The fourth week I received three packages – cookies, cookies, and did I mention cookies? This training was the first lesson I had in the importance of support from home. This was only a month-long training and miniscule in comparison to the long Deployments that our soldiers experience now. It's important, now more than ever, for our soldiers to receive support from home.
Kat
A life in Pictures and Words
http://blog.belleau-wood.org
A blog and Photo Gallery.
I have been doing milsupport since early summer. It started out as something I had been meaning to do for some time and but the intention had evaporated again and again with the pressure of 4 kids, a household, homeschooling and a couple of support groups I ran.
At some point I found this passage and others like it while doing some surfing on the net. Watergate Summer, one of the first blogs I ever visited, mentioned working with these folks coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan and so I finally found myself on site that matched troops with individuals and groups.
"Public opinion and material and emotional support have been shown to affect the impact of deployment sacrifices and exposure to trauma" (Bolton, Litz, Glenn, Orsillo, & Roemer, 2002; Koenen, Stellman, Stellman, & Sommer, 2003)
Support was something I could do and so it began for me, my homeschool group and my family. We haven't looked back.
In milsupport, you can bring a little peace to a few folks at a time. Is there an impact? Is your time wasted or are you just holding back the ocean with a spoon? I leave this to Katana and those like her to answer. --Hope
Tips for letter writing and packages Adoptaplatoon AnyMarine AnySoldier AnySailor AnyAirman
