War hero to prisoner

War hero to prisoner: Would all that he valued slip away?
The war at home
Last of three chapters:

By Moni Basu, CNN
May 24, 2011 08:00 a.m. EDT
The war hero's reputation fell hard around parts of Georgia.

Disorderly conduct. Obstruction of an officer. DUI. Since his return from Iraq, the former sheriff's deputy had found himself time and again on the other side of the law.

He was accused of taking a 12-pack of beer out of a convenience store on a Sunday, when alcohol sales are prohibited in Georgia, and almost ran over the store clerk with his truck. Twice, he tried to kill himself.

A year ago, an unexpected message popped up on my Facebook page. It was Spc. Shane Parham's sister, Mandi. Her brother was in jail.

He was incarcerated in neighboring Newton County, so he would not have to deal with former colleagues in the Walton County Sheriff's Office and jail.

They were tired of dealing with him.

Some whispered that his Iraq knee injury occurred during a volleyball game at Camp Striker, not a vehicle rollover. They suggested Parham was an angry man even before Iraq and was using battle scars as a crutch to get away with belligerent behavior.

Some of his fellow soldiers in Alpha company said Parham was making up his Iraq stories in a cry for attention.

Capt. Ty Vance of the sheriff's office said Parham developed an image as a whiner who was leading life with an "I deserve better" attitude. I asked him if he felt sorry for his former colleague.
"Not anymore," Vance said. "Not after the way he's handled things."
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War hero to prisoner