Sunday, May 31, 2009

Van Winkle offers view of PTSD



by
Chaplain Kathie
There have been many books I've had the honor of being sent to read. This is one I highly recommend. I brought it on the trip to Washington DC last week, but the trip didn't allow much time for reading. The rest of this week was playing catch up on the news and emails. Today, I had the time to finish reading it.


Van Winkle writes like master and commander of a remote control. He flips back and forth between events in Iraq and life back to what is supposed to be normal. He couldn't have done a better job because that is exactly what PTSD veterans go through all the time. Flashbacks take them back to where they were when their lives were in danger. Much like a remote control can change channels back and forth between programs, the mind performs the remote viewing on months, years and even decades in the past only this remote brings the smells and taste with the trip back into hell.

There have been compelling stories in the past from warriors but few have come close to the vivid imagery conjured up their creators.

From Barnes & Noble


Synopsis

A powerful, haunting, provocative memoir of a Marine in Iraq—and his struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a system trying to hide the damage done


Marine Sergeant Clint Van Winkle flew to war on Valentine’s Day 2003. His battalion was among the first wave of troops that crossed into Iraq, and his first combat experience was the battle of Nasiriyah, followed by patrols throughout the country, house to house searches, and operations in the dangerous Baghdad slums.

But after two tours of duty, certain images would not leave his memory—a fragmented mental movie of shooting a little girl; of scavenging parts from a destroyed, blood-spattered tank; of obliterating several Iraqi men hidden behind an ancient wall; and of mistakenly stepping on a “soft spot,” the remains of a Marine killed in combat. After his return home, Van Winkle sought help at a Veterans Administration facility, and so began a maddening journey through an indifferent system that promises to care for veterans, but in fact abandons many of them.

From riveting scenes of combat violence, to the gallows humor of soldiers fighting a war that seems to make no sense, to moments of tenderness in a civilian life ravaged by flashbacks, rage, and doubt, Soft Spots reveals the mind of a soldier like no other recent memoir of the war that has consumed America.
Soft Spots by Clint Van Winkle

Iraq War vet remembers historic battle

Brother in arms
Iraq War vet remembers historic battle

by E. Assata Wright
Reporter staff writer

History often leaves its mark on ordinary people, just as ordinary people often leave their mark on history.

On March 23, 2003, U.S. Marine Luke Smentkowski was doing what he had been training to do for months. He and the members of his unit were working in tandem with other military units to clear a strategically important area in Nasiriyah, Iraq. His unit’s mission was to secure one bridge while another unit was supposed to clear another.

Within moments, the other unit was ambushed by Iraq’s Republican Guard and heavy fighting ensued.

When the battle ended after nearly five hours, 11 U.S. soldiers had been killed and several had been taken as prisoners of war. Jessica Lynch was among the troops captured in the fighting that day. Smentkowski’s unit played a supporting role in her eventual rescue.

This initial battle was followed by six additional days of fighting that claimed the lives of 18 Marines and wounded 150 others.

“I knew we had took casualties,” the Secaucus resident said last week. “But I didn’t realize how many until I saw all the birds land.” The helicopters had been set in to collect the injured and the remains of those who had died.

When the incident happened, Smentkowski had been in Iraq for two months. He had joined the U.S. Marines in July 2001 and took his oath of service on Sept. 6, 2001 – less than a week before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Brother in arms Iraq War vet remembers historic battle
The Hudson Reporter - Hoboken,NJ,USA

Fort Campbell Suicides affect entire community

Suicides affect entire community
By MARK HICKS • The Leaf-Chronicle • May 29, 2009


Because the military community is so ingrained in Montgomery County, what affects Fort Campbell also affects surrounding neighborhoods, businesses and the people, who historically have been strong supporters of soldiers and their families.

"I think it's really sad, sad for the families," said Angela Greenfield, owner of the Front Page Deli, of recent soldier suicides. "I think being a soldier is one of the most honorable things a person can do. People seem to take them for granted, not as much as before, but I think some people just don't realize the sacrifices they make and the sacrifices their families make."

On Thursday, several people suggested that a greater show of appreciation for the troops from the community would make a meaningful difference, but Ward 2 City Councilwoman Deanna McLaughlin to a degree disagreed.

While acknowledging thank-yous go a long way, she thinks dealing with an Army double standard would do more to help soldiers and families deal with the more frequent and longer deployments of recent years.

"Until they make psychological counseling mandatory after a deployment, the Army is always going to face this problem," she said.

As a military spouse for 17 years and Family Readiness Group leader for five years and two deployments, McLaughlin has seen first-hand and experienced her own stresses of military life.
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http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20090529/NEWS01/905290337

Injured soldier, bride ready to face hurdles together

Injured soldier, bride ready to face hurdles together
The couple squeeze their wedding in before the groom's next surgery.
By Kevin Haas
RRSTAR.COM
Posted May 29, 2009 @ 10:01 PM

ROCKFORD — Four days before Sgt. Joseph Mershon was scheduled to return home from Iraq and propose to girlfriend Hillary Krueger, he was seriously injured when an improvised explosive devise struck his troop.

The couple were able to follow through on wedding plans today by tying the knot in a small ceremony inside the chapel at Swedish American Hospital. Hillary works as an aide for the hospital’s medical imaging services.
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Injured soldier, bride ready to face hurdles together

Memorial bike run to benefit Eric Hall fund


Can you unbreak some hearts? Part of PTSD is feeling alone, abandoned to live with an enemy embedded within them. Hundreds of thousands of others have felt this unbearable pain and surrendered their lives to this invisible wound. We still have a chance to help heal the warriors simply by showing we care and remember them. In doing this, we help teach them that there is nothing they have to be ashamed of any more than had they been wounded by a bullet. When you act locally to support them, you are also telling veterans around the nation that the people of this nation do care and do appreciate them. If you can go to this bike run, please, if you feel any obligation to them at all, go to this fund raiser for this fallen warrior who died because of his loving heart and help heal a nation full of veterans like Eric Hall before it's too late to help them.

Raising PTSD awareness
Memorial run to benefit Eric Hall fund


PORT CHARLOTTE -- For many returning servicemen, the war doesn't end at home.

It never did for U.S. Marine Cpl. Eric Hall.

Family members are continuing their fight to ensure future veterans get the help the need.

On Saturday, hundreds of motorcyclists are expected to line the streets of Charlotte County in memory of those lost in the aftermath of war.

"Home Front Fight," a memorial ride dedicated to Hall, will begin at 11 a.m. at Black Widow Harley-Davidson/Buell, 2224 El Jobean Road, Port Charlotte. Registration, which begins at 9 a.m., is $10 per bike.

Now in its second year, the bike run is intended to raise awareness about the silent scars affecting thousands of veterans like Hall, and the lack of treatment many receive.

The 24-year-old Afghanistan and Iraq war veteran was found dead inside a drainage pipe near his aunt's Deep Creek home March 9, 2008.
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Memorial run to benefit Eric Hall fund