A New Kind of War

Joe was ratcheting on a bolt at the diesel repair shop where he worked when it happened.  It was such a small thing that no one else seemed to notice it, but the explosive sound that came from a blown tire out on the street caused Joe to drop his tools and hit the ground, clasping his hands over his head as he had done so many times in Iraq.

For an awful instant, it all came flooding back: the shouts, explosions, and the incredible noise.  The fear – that cold, gripping fear –  pounded in his ears and sweat poured from his face.  Then as quickly as it happened, the awful scene passed away and he found himself back in his shop, strangely on the floor.

He was just dusting himself off when his boss, Jerry, came around the corner.  “Are you doing ok, man?” Jerry asked, putting his hand on his shoulder. 

“Yeah,” Joe replied nervously.  “I guess I just thought I’d take a break and rest a bit,” he joked.

“Well, if you need to get yourself a soda and relax for a few minutes, you can,” Jerry told him. 

“Thanks, boss.  I may just do that.”

As Joe popped the can of soda and took his first sip, his thoughts went back to his tour of duty in Iraq.  Though he was only twenty-three, he felt so old sometimes.  After seeing several of his best friends die, and then coming upon some other casualties of war, he knew he would never be the same.  Though he had the same body, he was a different person.

His mind went back to the time he came home from Iraq.  As he hugged his wife for the first time in a year and a half, her tears mingled with her laughter as she whispered in his ear, “I’m so glad to have you back!”  He knew she meant every word of it, but she was not prepared for the fact that he had changed.    There was many a late-night discussion, and many tears were shed, but finally she came to understand how badly he needed her to just love him anyway.  His wife was a special lady.

As Joe finished up the last of his soda and headed back to his bay, he smiled as he thought of his wonderful “support group”: the Lord, his wife, his boss, and his church.  He was waging a new kind of war now, an internal one that can only be won by the reinforcement of those near and dear to him.

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Joe suffers from a mild form of PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Many of our soldiers coming back from the war are experiencing varying degrees of PTSD, and need our support and love.  If you know of anyone who has been in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other combat, they need to know that those who are closest to them love them!