Decorated Iraq war soldier still endures the battle within

Decorated Iraq war soldier still endures the battle within
By John Barry, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, July 20, 2008



GULFPORT — She looks young and petite, waiflike in T-shirt and shorts. The only clue to who she really is, or was, is a slight toughness in her voice, a commanding directness, a clear vibe that this is someone who could, under certain circumstances, pull the trigger. The girl in the T-shirt was the lieutenant colonel who trucked duffel bags of cash around Baghdad, who fed donkeys to Saddam's lions, who brought home a Bronze Star, who also brought home a strange illness and a whole lot of emotional ambiguity. The story of Army Lt. Col. Kathryn Champion, 43, parallels the story of the war. She won plenty, lost plenty. She accomplished a lot, accomplished little. She looks good, feels bad. She can't say what her story means. The ending hasn't been written. It's as though she has circled back to the beginning. She's Kathy again, just Kathy, starting over with nothing.

• • •

Kathy is an honorably discharged veteran being cared for at the VA Medical Center at Bay Pines for multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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