Fighter
It isn't easy to hang onto a fragile thread.
He continued to brave through each day, however, as best he could. He coped with sarcasm and vulgar jokes, and though it could anger those around him, he still found a thin layer of comfort in it. Romance brought many mixed emotions, giving him both an edge and a weakness. Losing it at a young age tainted it's image and made him afraid.
Beneath his layers of anger and macho, he had regrets and he had fear. And yet it covered it with ease, coming off as an occasion jerk with beyond-his-years wisdom.
In his gravest mistakes, he shut down. He pulled his bravado desperately, trying to cover his pain, and it pulled him through it.
Both wars, the physical one and his mental one, slowly ceased. The damage was done in both regards, but he managed to find his happiness again. He returned to his home and began picking up more broken pieces, putting them back together with those he loved the most.
He found happiness.
In the end, he is a fighter. He continues to fight his nightmares and his memories, but he is finally happy.
That is all he ever needed and wanted, after all.