Chapter 5: Coming Home
Two months later on a plane over Pennsylvania Christopher Robin was going home. He had a dozen newspapers and magazines in his lap, but was reading a letter in his hand.
Sargent Christopher Robin,
Due to your injuries and the expiration of your service contract, the
United States Army hereby grants you an honorable discharge and the
benefits that you are entitled to under United States law. Thank you
for your service to your country.
Under the paragraph were several signatures including a general's, the secretary of defense and the president's. He read the letter for the hundredth time. He couldn't believe it, after three years he was a civilian again. In those three years he had been around the world twice, fought in two wars and lost nine friends. That last patrol still haunts him. After he dragged his nine comrades out of the humvee and fainted, another patrol drove up and radioed for medics. Christopher woke up hours later in a field hospital and was told he was the only survivor of the explosion. It was a huge blow to his heart. He didn't just lost nine soldiers, but nine friends. He told himself since then to move on but it was difficult go on with that memory. It was especially difficult because the Purple Heart and Bronze Star received for his actions that day reminded him of everything. With a sigh he put away his discharge notice and picked up one of the newspapers and magazines he bought at the airport. All of them had the same headline: SADDAM CAPTURED. He smiled to himself as he read the articles detailing the capture of the dictator. "They finally caught that S.O.B.," he said to himself. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the air stewardess announce they were landing and to buckle their seatbelts. Christopher Robin was a couple of hours from home.
Christopher's welcome home was overwhelming. Friends and neighbors came by his parents' house to say hello and chat. To them Christopher hasn't change since his enlistment three years ago. The truth is Christopher was broken externally and internally. There were his injuries from the explosion. He came out of Afghanistan with a bullet in his arm, but it was minor. Shrapnel in his torso, legs, and arms hit Christopher when his humvee blew up. Miraculously, not just he survived, but in weeks he could walk around with crutches. He was lucky considering that many of the soldiers he met at the local Veterans Affairs Offices that came from Iraq had lost arms and legs in similar attacks. He also had nightmares. Every night the explosion that killed his friends replayed in his mind and he would wake up screaming. He knew that he needed counseling and met with a group at the VA Office for several weeks. The group leader told the men to talk their family and friends about their experiences in Iraq so they can understand their suffering. This bothered Christopher. How could he tell his family and neighbors that about what happened to him in Iraq. Sure they knew that he was injured when his humvee was attacked and that nine of his squad members were killed but they did not know his suffering. He wasn't a very social person during his teen years and didn't know anyone close enough he could talk to. It seemed that he might have to fight his demons by himself.
Two months later on a plane over Pennsylvania Christopher Robin was going home. He had a dozen newspapers and magazines in his lap, but was reading a letter in his hand.
Sargent Christopher Robin,
Due to your injuries and the expiration of your service contract, the
United States Army hereby grants you an honorable discharge and the
benefits that you are entitled to under United States law. Thank you
for your service to your country.
Under the paragraph were several signatures including a general's, the secretary of defense and the president's. He read the letter for the hundredth time. He couldn't believe it, after three years he was a civilian again. In those three years he had been around the world twice, fought in two wars and lost nine friends. That last patrol still haunts him. After he dragged his nine comrades out of the humvee and fainted, another patrol drove up and radioed for medics. Christopher woke up hours later in a field hospital and was told he was the only survivor of the explosion. It was a huge blow to his heart. He didn't just lost nine soldiers, but nine friends. He told himself since then to move on but it was difficult go on with that memory. It was especially difficult because the Purple Heart and Bronze Star received for his actions that day reminded him of everything. With a sigh he put away his discharge notice and picked up one of the newspapers and magazines he bought at the airport. All of them had the same headline: SADDAM CAPTURED. He smiled to himself as he read the articles detailing the capture of the dictator. "They finally caught that S.O.B.," he said to himself. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the air stewardess announce they were landing and to buckle their seatbelts. Christopher Robin was a couple of hours from home.
Christopher's welcome home was overwhelming. Friends and neighbors came by his parents' house to say hello and chat. To them Christopher hasn't change since his enlistment three years ago. The truth is Christopher was broken externally and internally. There were his injuries from the explosion. He came out of Afghanistan with a bullet in his arm, but it was minor. Shrapnel in his torso, legs, and arms hit Christopher when his humvee blew up. Miraculously, not just he survived, but in weeks he could walk around with crutches. He was lucky considering that many of the soldiers he met at the local Veterans Affairs Offices that came from Iraq had lost arms and legs in similar attacks. He also had nightmares. Every night the explosion that killed his friends replayed in his mind and he would wake up screaming. He knew that he needed counseling and met with a group at the VA Office for several weeks. The group leader told the men to talk their family and friends about their experiences in Iraq so they can understand their suffering. This bothered Christopher. How could he tell his family and neighbors that about what happened to him in Iraq. Sure they knew that he was injured when his humvee was attacked and that nine of his squad members were killed but they did not know his suffering. He wasn't a very social person during his teen years and didn't know anyone close enough he could talk to. It seemed that he might have to fight his demons by himself.