I am writing as the mother of a soldier and for other mothers of soldiers, who have experienced similar heartbreaking stories like the one I am about to write about my son. At the age of nineteen and already a father, my son enlisted in the Army because he felt it would be good for him, and at the time did not have any direction in his life. After my initial shock and fear that he was about to go into the Army and most likely be sent overseas while a war was in progress, I decided that maybe the structure, discipline and direction he received, if he returned, would probably be good for him. My son served in Iraq for a year during Iraqi Freedom, sacrificing not only his time away from his infant daughter and family every day but also putting his life on the line for his country every single day he was there. My son always was a bit of a rebel growing up and maybe that is why he had the strength to make it through boot camp and go to war. I firmly believe it takes a special person to want to sign up to serve your country with a war going on and with the knowledge that you may never return. When my son returned from Iraq it seems like his life just spiraled downhill. He got separated from his wife, transferred up to Fort Drum where he wanted to
be near his daughter, turned to painkillers for the pain he had in his ankle, which he hurt while in boot camp and was now worse. The painkillers became addicting and he eventually turned to hardcore drug use. Sadly to say he lost the rank he so honorably incurred, not only because of drug use but being AWOL because of the issues he was suffering from. He was a changed person, mentally and physically. He came back with PTSD, depression, anxiety, flashbacks from seeing a friend of his killed while in Iraq, and is suffering from both the mental aspects of war and the physical aspects also. My son was in the hospital for threatening suicide while still in the Army and then was sent to a rehab for his drug use from a miracle standpoint because if left up to the Army at that time and without the help from a Senator in Watertown most likely would not have been sent to rehab. My son had asked so many times for rehab and surgery for his ankle but was never sent to rehab until he threatened suicide and to this day, although out of the Army has never had his ankle taken care of. My son is out of the Army now with an OTH, Other Than Honorable discharge. I truly feel he should have had a medical discharge and hope it can be changed so he can get the full VA benefits he so truly deserves. My son is also experiencing homelessness. My husband took him and another soldier friend of his in to our home which only lasted a week because of an explosive argument with my husband. My son will not go to any shelters because he feels it will take away what little pride he has left. No soldier should ever have to live on the street. This is where my story ends, for now. I pray my son gets the help and direction he needs to eventually be a well balanced father his little girl so desperately needs and loves. There are so many stories just like mine or even with worse endings. My son will always be a soldier in my eyes because he honored all of us with his service to our country. Now it is time to honor my son and the other soldiers who are suffering because of their unselfish duty to our country in the time of war.
