Sep 14, 2012
Indystar.com
Written by
Barb Berggoetz
A turning point for U.S. Army Spec. Wes Carlile, Anderson, came in 2003 when 15 members of his Army unit were killed and 26 were wounded after insurgents brought down a Chinook helicopter in Fallujah, Iraq. As a chaplain’s assistant, he was required to plan their services. / 2003 Associated Press file photo
Newlywed bliss and togetherness turned into a broken marriage.
Their worlds separated, painfully so.
Iraq War veteran Wes Carlile, plagued by nightmares and flashbacks, retreated into his private hell.
"I was very angry and bitter," he said. "I hated God for my friends who died and others I lost."
Carlile's wife, Andrea, belittled, emotionally and physically abused, turned to alcohol and thoughts of suicide.
"It broke my spirit. I felt like I was nothing."
Each felt abandoned, betrayed. They turned away from each other -- and God. They signed their divorce papers.
But their story doesn't end there.
Andrea, in her new book, "The War That Came Home," calls theirs a story of hope. And she wants the book, to which Wes contributed, to bring solace and inspiration to others fighting similar battles.
"Miracles still exist. Blessings of others can make a difference. . . . A battered woman can find her footing again and champion against abuse. PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) does not have to destroy the veteran and his or her family."
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Please tell me this is a joke! You signed up to server your country. Perhaps you only sign up for the benefits and when your DUTY called you had regrets. Seriously, please tell me April Fools is here.
ReplyDeleteJosh Guillory
Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran
Josh, are you for real? I doubt it. My husband has PTSD and is 100% disabled. He signed up because he wanted to be like his Dad, also a veteran. His Dad received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. My husband's combat injury didn't come with one but he has a Bronze Star too. The difference between them and you is the wars fought. OIF for you when you came home to an overload of information and people ready to help. For my husband's Dad it was WWII and for my husband it was Vietnam. Everything available on PTSD and TBI is there because Vietnam veterans fought for it.
ReplyDeleteWhen they came home, we had nothing. No support, no internet and the only time the media did any reporting on them was when one of them got into trouble.
Regrets? My husband is 60 and no matter what Vietnam cost him, he'd do it again. It took him almost 20 years to go to the VA for help and that was only because I made him. I wanted him to stay alive!