James Blake Miller is 21.
On November 9, 2004 a photo by Luis Sinco of the Los Angeles Times taken in Fallujah made Miller a Marine icon.
He joined up in November 2002 and was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division.
He’s back in Kentucky now, battling the war within.
Published 2 years, 8 months ago
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What a crying shame that this lovely young man has suffered so much….I am sure everyone of those soldiers who came home all face the aftermath of the horrors of war. The ones with visible wounds probably get more sympathy…but those with PTSD are not always understood. I cannot fault these men for following their countrys orders….but I can say as a many generational American that not one of these soldiers lives is worth being disrupted, nor bodies wounded, no death should have been sacrificed by Bush so that Iraq can become a democracy. I do not care if those people live under a dictator, or if they can vote, etc. It is a tragedy…America and Americans must come first. Bless those who served and may God be with them after they come home. Deidre
Thank you Soldier
Have you stopped to thank a veteran today?
For the price of freedom they had to pay?
Did you gaze into those distant eyes?
Did you see the ghosts he can’t deny?
Did you think a soldier’s heart was made of steel?
Because he was trained to kill, he couldn’t feel?
Did you see the guilt written on his face,
For the loss of life he can’t replace?
Did you know he mourns the lives he couldn’t save,
And walks with comrades in their grave?
Did you remember the boy with innocence lost?
Do you really know war’s ultimate cost?
Have you felt the blast of artillery fire?
Do you have the courage it would require?
Have you stood in trenches consumed with fear?
Felt the enemies breath so very near?
Have you walked with God on a battleground?
Seen your brothers dead or dying all around?
Have you stopped to thank a vet today,
Or did you just turn and walk away?
From the pain he’ll carry for the rest of his life,
Did you consider his family, his children, his wife?
That watch him suffer in silence each and every day,
As he’s haunted by memories that don’t go away?
Did you care that the soldier is still pulling guard?
That his heart, mind, and soul will forever be scarred?
Do you know how he suffers from ptsd?
Or that our precious freedom is never free?
Do you care that he still hears the blood curdling screams?
Or that he returns to the war each night in his dreams?
Have you felt the sorrow of a combat vet?
Or would you rather just forget?
That war has pierced his hardened heart,
And torn this soldier all apart?
Would you rather our heroes just fade away?
Or will you stop to thank a vet today?
By Chris Woolnough
http://groups.msn.com/AftermathofwarcopingwithPTSDtoo/aftermathofwar.msnw