Wounded Warriors

CAB soldiers salute the wounded warriors as they leave Camp Taji.
(Photo by Spc. Roland Hale)

The story I wrote about Christopher Bain is probably my favorite work. It takes more than just the writer to make a good story, and this case I had quite a story to tell. Not only did I get to meet the dozen wounded warriors, but I got to tag along with Bain as he re-lived the ambush that took him out of the fight six years ago.

Before the military, I lived near Ft. Lewis, Wash. I saw wounded soldiers all the time. Sure, they weren't wearing uniforms, but I could tell that the twenty year old without legs had recently come back from combat. When I saw these men and women, I thought, they must be bitter. The mental state of a wounded soldier after a combat injury is something that I won't presume to know. But I always thought that these veterans would be bitter - to the war, to the Army, to the Iraqis. When I joined the Army and two years later met these wounded warriors, I was completely proven wrong. The twelve men I met last week are the most patriotic, supportive and proud individuals I've ever met. If they could put on the uniform again, they'd do it in a heart beat.

Perhaps something that I didn't convey in that story well enough, however, is that Bain is one of nearly five thousand soldiers that have such a story. And I didn't even mention the soldiers that lost their lives.

Spc. Roland Hale