War Isn't Just Politics and Guns

They say that all is fair in love and war, as well as nothing in life is fair or free. There are a thousand anecdotes to fit just about any situation, and then there's Joe.

Joe was a part of our tight crew of friends who played computer games five years ago. We had seen each other through personal struggles of all kinds and became quite close because of it. After 9/11 we talked about politics and politicians, Americans and the rest of the world, and then one day he dropped the bomb on me - he was going to enlist. I already had close friends who had enlisted and due to not being able to contact them for months at a time I would torture myself with casualty lists and hoping they were fine.

I ranted and railed and asked him why he would ever consider enlisting given what I already knew of Iraq and Afghanistan - this wasn't Operation Desert Storm or Shield, this was a real war that was going to have a lot of casualties. You don't just walk into a country with one of the biggest armies and not expect that those who don't approve of your doing so won't fight with everything they have. He said he felt it was the only right thing to do. I was stumped to argue.

The months went by and I was proud of Joe's progress. He graduated and went almost directly into active duty, seemingly unshaken and unafraid of the hell that was to follow.

We kept in touch as much as we could and he covered up a lot of the things he thought would upset me. Things such as his unit losing 70% of their soldiers. Things such as his state of mind slowly being eaten away. He'd talk to me about what was going on in my life and ask me questions about my boyfriend, my job, and the games I would play. He seemed to slowly age until he was less of a brother and more of an uncle listening to his niece tell about the little amusing things in her life while the world exploded around him.

One day he sent me an e-mail and told me he was in Germany. They had pulled him off the field and he would be going some medical treatments. He said the doctors didn't know what was wrong with him. I asked him if he needed me to come visit, or if he'd be there long enough for me to get funds together to see him. He said he wasn't sure. By the end of the week, the Army had sent him back to the field.

Months past by without any word, and I worried for his, and many others', safety. I would send him e-mails telling him about the little things going on in my life and hoped I would hear from him soon. One day I got a letter back.

Joe was in Germany again, on the operating table again, and still the doctors didn't know what was causing his problems. They were removing parts of his internal organs, but he refused to tell me why until he came back to the States. No more lighthearted chats left between us, he told me of the horrors he had seen. Not much of them, but enough I will never be the same again.

A good friend of his was killed by an Anti-Personnel Device.
They had to remove parts of Joe's organs because of shrapnel in his body.
Part of the shrapnel they removed included shards of bone from his friend who was killed.

Joe didn't lie to me entirely. The doctors still don't know why it is he is randomly paralyzed throughout his body - part of his face, chest, arm, and leg. They also are having to work with him so he will stop waking up in the middle of the night screaming. The last we talked he said he was getting better - it didn't happen every night, after all.

The last I heard from Joe is that the woman he married had given birth to their son who they named after his friend who was killed by the APD. I hope that he's found peace from the nightmares of the past several years.

Ever since 9/11 and the cry for retaliation I have been against war, but no matter where our soldiers are sent - into war, active duty for peacekeeping efforts, or just on tour during peacetime - I may not support the government or the politicians who send the soldiers in all directions, but I will always be a supporter of the soldiers who are doing their jobs for their own reasons, not for politics.

Politics and guns are not why soldiers choose to enlist, and that's something we should never forget.