Marine Gives Six Reasons Why He's Happier He Went to War

Why ’6 Reasons I’m Happier Because I Went to War’ went viral
The Washington Post
Dan Lamothe
September 29, 2014

It’s counter-intuitive: Why would combat veterans who risk their lives repeatedly, experience gruesome events and witness their fellow service members die be happy that they went to war?

And yet that’s exactly what Marine veteran John Walters reflects on in a new post on LinkedIn that has gone viral. Tens of thousands of readers have shared the piece, titled “6 Reasons I’m Happier Because I Went to War.” Many of them say they also served in the military and relate to what he shared.

The post was first published last week. Walters, a marketing manager with Shell, wrote that he has been asked regularly whether he is glad he deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and usually surprises people when he tells them that the answer, enthusiastically, is yes.

“Naturally wartime and combat are associated with sadness and devastation,” wrote Walters, who left the Marine Corps as a sergeant. “War affects millions of innocent people and [post-traumatic stress disorder] afflicts service men and women with crippling effects. I’m not immune to all the negative fallout of being a Marine during wartime, but many lessons I learned as a Marine make me a happier person.”
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Eight years of my life was spent enlisted in the US Marine Corps. I was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq and Helmand Province, Afghanistan. One of the most frequent questions I am asked about my service is, "Are you glad you did it?" It surprises most people when I respond with an enthusiastic YES. Naturally wartime and combat are associated with sadness and devastation. War affects millions of innocent people and PTSD afflicts service men and women with crippling effects. I'm not immune to all the negative fallout of being a Marine during wartime, but many lessons I learned as a Marine make me a happier person. Here are a few: (Note I use the term Marine, but it could be exchanged for soldier, seaman, airman, or any other service member.)

Go here to read the reasons
6 Reasons I'm Happier Because I Went to War