On the first day of high school in 2004, my girlfriends and I met an awesome group of people that instantly helped us fit in more than most freshman. Us girls decided we would go watch some of the boys practice before a football game. After the game, we met up with our friends and some of the senior guys... that is when I met Kevin. Kevin and I hit it off instantly. We were the best of friends within a few months of meeting each other and soon we started "going steady". After a wonderful few months, Kevin told me that he had planned to join the Marines and I was devastated! Before I knew it, it was time for him to ship out to bootcamp. We were able to keep in contact every so often while he was in training for 3 months. Three months came and went and he finally go to come home for a brief amount of time before shipping out to fight in the war. The adjustment period was brutal. It was very hard for us to communicate while he was in Afghanistan, but when we did, we talked for hours upon hours. He couldn't tell me much, but I could tell whatever was going on was deeply affecting him. After his first tour, he got to come home for a little while and I could tell he wasn't happy. He said that he had never seen so much devastation and destruction. It was one of the scariest things he had ever been through, but he had to suck it up and return to duty, for 3 more years. At the end of his second tour, his tank rolled over a mine and blew up. He suffered a really bad concusion, burns to his leg, and a broken foot. His friend in the tank with him... didn't make it. After the loss of his friend, everything I had ever known about Kevin was gone. His PTSD turned him into a completely different person. Trying to deal with that and the lack of communication really took a toll on me and I ended things with him. I felt terrible, but I had to do it. He told me he felt even more alone than he already was. A few months went by and I started getting letters and voicemails from him saying he felt suicidal and couldn't stand life any longer. I was absolutely terrified so I contacted his sister. We had never been the closest of friends, but this brought us together. We started sending him care packages and letters of encouragement to get him through the rest of his time in the Marines. A few months before he was due to leave for good, he contacted me on Facebook and we caught up on how he was doing. It seemed like he was a shell of who he used to be. He said he still had not recovered from his PTSD and probably never will. Some of the things he saw and went through will haunt him for the rest of his life and he did it for us. I know this isn't in interview format, but Kevin and I aren't close anymore, as his change in personality really put a strain on our friendship. I will never forget those four years of my life that I spent being so close and attached to a Marine and all of the stories he told me. It was very scary, but I couldn't be more proud of him and what he did!
OORAH!
No comments:
Post a Comment