PTSD cases grow as combat continues for Fort Drum soldiers

PTSD cases grow as combat continues for Fort Drum soldiers
By DANIEL WOOLFOLK
TIMES STAFF WRITER
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

FORT DRUM — James E. Bonds sat on the back deck of the Captain’s Cove Motel overlooking Henderson Harbor and took a break from preparing reflective bait to watch the sea gulls feed.

“Fishing runs in me,” the lifelong angler said. “My mom said she was even dreaming of fishing when she had me.”

Even when the former soldier was deployed to Iraq in 2005 with the 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, he fished.

“I was the only one ... who’d get dressed up in full battle gear to go fishing," he said.

Mr. Bonds survived an improvised explosive device attack. And during a raid, he was shot twice in the chest at close range. The rounds hit his armor, knocking the wind out of him before his fellow soldiers killed the shooter.

Back home after the deployment, Mr. Bonds began having nightmares about being attacked. One night while asleep with his girlfriend beside him, Mr. Bonds had another nightmare and began to choke her.

“After that, I didn’t sleep in the bed with her no more,” he said. “I couldn’t trust myself.”

In 2008, a doctor diagnosed Mr. Bonds with post-traumatic stress disorder that he believes came from the countless combat experiences and a traumatic brain injury, which likely came from the IED explosion, he said. To combat the effects of the wars, he makes behavioral health appointments and constantly works to keep the bad dreams and thoughts at bay. He does that mostly by keeping busy. If he’s not fishing, he’s mowing the lawn or painting.

“The more you harp on it, the worse it gets,” he said. “That’s why I’m always doing something.”


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