Creative Writing: American Soldier in Iraq Essay

upon the men along side me. Some of the men so I have been told have

Being in war is definitely one of the most life changing events a person will ever have whether it be for the better or for the worst. Soldiers will witness events that are impossible to forget or see back at home in the states. Some soldiers may have even seen one of their best friends that they’ve known for forever get blown up into pieces right next to them, or they might even get one of their own limbs blown off of their own bodies, becoming handicapped for life. As a result of seeing something so intense like that, most soldiers are usually traumatized. In matter of fact, a great amount of soldiers are traumatized from the very beginning of being in war. It’s without a doubt difficult to deal with this but there are some ways where

Through history, the United States has participated in many significant events, such as the infamous Civil War, World War I and II, and the Cold War. In the same manner, the United States has been in many conflicts with the Middle East. For instance, the Gulf War where, we, the United States, liberated the Saudi Arabian country Kuwait from the dictator Saddam Hussein; however, he is in command of one of the most powerful armies in the globe (Operation). Even though this conflict only lasted for months, America had overcome a milestone. So many military personnel have participated in this conflict and all have different stories as well as perspectives. Whether the veteran was on the front line or working behind the scenes,

Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. The soldiers in the American revolution demonstrated this at the Battle of Valley Forge when facing starvation, disease, and hypothermic temperatures.

The warm summer breeze was a nice change from yesterday's bitterly cold southerly wind. The sun was shining brightly and the lawn was shimmering green. Charlene was out on the veranda, watching her two babies frolicking around on the grass. Owen, dressed in an army green button-up shirt and knee-skimming shorts, was running around wreaking havoc on the ant nests by the oak tree.

Nobody back in the U.S. knew what happened to the soldiers back over in Vietnam. They cannot comprehend some of the most gruesome stories they told. With them not being able to know what they went through, most do not know what PTSD is or how it affects the veterans. Therefore this brings us to how loved ones were affected from the war.

First of all, there is something people need to know. Veterans stay away from their family, but then they come back like they have never left, and they don’t want to remember what happened in battle. Real heroes like this make sacrifices. If they have children, those children might have been upset without a parent or someone else to make them feel better and have been waiting for days, months, or maybe years! It’s sad being alone with no family

Did I make the right decision? Should I stay? I can’t stay here, it is too strenuous to live like this. The first two years were exhausting and did not proceed so well. Some of the men quit out of fear. Do I quit? Quitting is the right decision because I am not living the life I expected and wanted.

Almost half have been deployed more than once. Many times that number of Americans has been affected as parents, spouses, children, and friends.

War survivors are perceived as brave and thought to be able to face anything. Taking a look at a soldier, someone might notice scars and burn marks on them. But what they can’t see is the internal damage a war might have taken on a soldier, i.e. PTSD. Anybody who’s ever lived with someone who had PTSD experiences a difficult life; avoiding certain interactions, anger/guilt, addiction, alienation, and discourage are feelings and actions that a family must go through. Life is even more difficult for the person who has PTSD; flashbacks, palpitation, nightmares, social anxiety, and hyper

The Iraq war and the Afghanistan war involved several injuries; as well as, four thousand casualties, and the number of suicides from 2012 to present outnumbers the soldiers dead from combat. The high cost of soldiers were dying in an unpopular war by the Bush administration and the cost to Americans at home and abroad in caring for these wounded warriors, as a result, by 2003 to 2010 the deaths in military action suicides, and suicides at home at a rate of thirteen point five per one hundred thousand troops (Lancet). This only includes America’s causalities, not the deaths of Afghanistan, Iraq, allies and Iraq civilians killed during the war, yet on top of that; rebuilding their shattered lives. The tragedy of war did not just affect Americans; the American soldiers were in

People tend to forget that it is going on when it is not happening outside of their home. The years of 1939 through 1945 was World War II. When the soldiers came home after fighting for our freedom, some came back with visible battle wounds, some with invisible wounds, and some with both. Our freedom has always and will continue to come with a price. For some, that could mean their life, physically and/or emotionally. Some of the World War II veterans came back with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder but was not treated for it, instead, they all were given a hero’s welcome. Kaiman (2003) writes about World War II veteran Morris Aronson and how “he witnessed six buddies burn to death in an explosion and felt tremendous survivor guilt because his brother downed while drowned while in the military, also in WWII” (p. 37). Veterans tend to acquire post-traumatic stress disorder from having such a strong guilt of be a survivor while they have witnessed their unit member(s) get killed in front of them. Aronson later had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and was then diagnosed with PTSD. He was able to join a group for group therapy with other WWII veterans and he became less anxious and felt less survivor

These things have great effects in everyday civilian lives. The soldiers have to live with those memories of war for the rest of their lives. They will continue to live with fear and guilt from the friends that they have lost in the

In the United States, soldiers are currently returning home from war broken and scarred. While some physical wounds are clearly visible others are often hidden/invisible to the naked eye, but men and women proudly wear these wounds as a badge of courage and honor for protecting our nation. These men and women come home rightfully expecting help, assistance and care and get hit with the reality of poor care from the Veteran Health Administration and Department of Defense.

The lives that have been lost impact more than just the people who have lost them. The death of a soldier impacts the entire family and can sometimes break families apart. Family members who have lost someone in the war sometimes commit suicide after they hear the news because they cant get over losing a life of a loved one who sacrificed so much for their country. For example in Syria, if you haven’t heard about the civil war they have been having there, the fighting and death toll is increasing. There have been over 250,000 thousand people who have lost their lives