Sunday, November 18, 2007
Tolls of War: PTSD and Blake Miller, the Marlboro Man
Reports about Iraq war veterans suffering from PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder) are appearing more frequently than in the past. It takes time for the symptoms to manifest themselves and as the war continues the number of afflicted grows.
Luis Sinco's article in The Observer about Marine Lance Corporal James Blake Miller, who became known as the Marlboro Man after Sinco's photograph of him at Falluja in November 2004 was published in newspapers across the world, takes readers into Blake Miller's battle with PTSD. A superb piece of writing.
Am I to blame for his Private War? - Luis Sinco
Am I to blame for his Private War? - Luis Sinco
- Sometimes in the night, I hear a grenade launcher belching rounds. Or maybe it's just Miller gunning his Harley. He's roaring over Foggy Mountain, the wind blowing by, cleansing his thoughts. Blake, son, I know it sounds crazy, but my mind always takes me back to that distant rooftop in Falluja, where I snapped your picture. I think of that sunrise, bright and warm, and how lucky we were to see it.
Desertion Rate Climbs
MSNBC
WASHINGTON - Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.
