60% "New England's Own" Marines Suffer From War Trauma

New Englanders are a strange lot. I should know because I will never stop being a New Englander. Although I've adapted to living in Florida, in the three years we've lived here, I've been home seven times. We have a sense of history. After all, it's not the New England accent but the rest of the country has an accent and New Englanders speak our own kind of English. (The Pilgrims landed in Plymouth and last I heard, it was still in Massachusetts.) We are proud of our heritage even though most of us were from either a first or second generation American families, we all claimed to be Bostonians. I swear to this day most of what makes New Englanders unique is in the water. A tough bunch as well. With brutal winters and sweltering summers, no other part of the country can compare to the foliage of the Berkshires or traveling down Old Route One in Topsfield headed to the fair grounds Columbus Day Weekend. The shoreline from Maine to the Cape, old houses lining cobble stone roads of Salem and some of the best seafood you'd ever eat in Gloucester and Ipswich or taking a stroll in Rockport, if you can get a parking space.

From the time this nation was formed in the minds of the father's courage and determination brought it all to reality, New Englanders have always been patriots and not just as a football team. The needs of the many always outweighed the desires of the few. American history began in New England and today, history is still being recorded by the deeds of the patriots who still today are willing to risk their lives for the needs of the many.
The Boston Globe April 10, 2005

Military cuts are sharpest in New England
Officials worry for security, culture
By Bryan Bender,

New England has experienced a greater decline in military presence since the end of the Cold War than any other region of the country and is now at risk of losing its only active-duty air and naval bases, according to data compiled by the Globe and government officials.

Thirty-five of 93 major bases shuttered across the nation since 1988, or a third of the total, were in Northeastern and Midwestern states, part of an exodus of large military installations from Northern states over the last decade and a half to the economically friendlier South and West.

The six New England states saw the largest drop in active-duty personnel over the period. Nearly 60 percent of full-time military personnel based in the region went away as their installations were closed by decisions of four Base Realignment and Closure commissions, the last in 1995.

In 1988, New England was home base for 30,600 active-duty personnel. It is currently home to less than 12,700.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/050410-military-cuts.htm

Of these remaining, we have New England's Own Marines. A tough bunch of Marines, with history in their souls, tried by weather and toughened by the sea, lulled by country air and the wonder of nature, embraced by families and a bond that will remain with them until they leave this earth. With the Marines facing 60% of battle wounded minds, it further proves the risk of redeployments on those we send and ask all of. What we did before this day is deplorable by not preparing for them to come home. What we do from this day on had better be equal to the need and we better figure out what that need will be for them tomorrow, next year, ten years from now and for the rest of their lives so emergency measures will take care of them all. If not, it is not they who have suffered wrongly. It is the patriots who saw this nation as one of greatness who would have died for nothing. If we fail to take care of those who were willing to risk their lives for the sake of this country, we are not worthy of the sacrifices of any generation that has gone before them. kc




Bravo Company of the first battalion 25th Marine regiment, known as "New England's Own," during a training weekend at Fort Devens in Ayer. (Bill Greene/ Globe Staff)
Battered returning veterans struggle with transition

The 878 men of the First Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment who came home have struggled to come to terms with the fact that 11 did not; that 68 others suffered combat wounds; and that many more were hit with injuries less visible but with long-term effects.
It is as if they all shared in those losses, and, in a real sense, most did. A Globe survey of more than 130 members of the battalion found that nearly 60 percent report one or more symptoms of war trauma - anger, depression, nightmares, hypervigilance - even if they have not been diagnosed with the disorder.
There is also a powerful consensus that while most of their neighbors appreciate their service, civilians don't quite get it. A sense of isolation grows out of that, particularly in New England, where military bases are few and hostility to the war runs high.


More than a few of the Marines have doubts about this war, too. But their focus is on their duty - and on getting well, or helping others to do so. In that, members of the battalion report some ringing successes but also some shameful failures as the nation delivers, unevenly, on its pledge to care for those wounded in service.

PDF Survey Veterans on life after Iraq
Chat transcript 11/12/07
Globe reporter Charles Sennott discussed veterans' issues

Coming Home
After a long brutal tour of duty in Iraq, the first battalion 25th Marine regiment returns home.

The Roulette Wheel
Three are killed and three wounded during the longest day for the battalion.

Moving On
The Marines of "New England's Own" struggle with life back home after Iraq.