Casemate
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Twenty years after the invasion of Iraq, former CBS and NBC journalist Chip Reid, who was embedded with U.S. forces when the Iraq War broke out, talks to fight veterans of the 3d Battalion, fifth Marine Regiment and their households about how the struggle modified their lives in his new e-book, “Battle Scars” (Casemate),
Read an excerpt under, and do not miss Chip Reid talk about the post-war experiences of veterans on “CBS Sunday Morning” June 30!
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On Thanksgiving Day 2021, whereas driving from my dwelling in Washington, D.C. to the Philadelphia suburbs for a household dinner, a souped-up pickup truck roared previous me on I-95. It had momentary plates and two Marine Corps stickers, one on the rear window and one on the bumper. I assumed: “Isn’t that identical to a Marine. He simply purchased the rattling factor and it is already plastered with Marine Corps stickers.”
That bought me serious about essentially the most difficult, gratifying, jaw-dropping, and scary story I lined in my 33 years as a journalist—the marginally lower than six weeks I spent embedded with 3d Battalion, fifth Marine Regiment (3/5 for brief), through the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
For years I had thought that at some point I might escape the journalism rat-race and write a e-book, however I hadn’t settled on a subject. “That’s it!” I assumed because the pickup disappeared out of sight. For the twentieth anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2023, I might write a e-book in regards to the Marines of three/5.
As I drove, I considered questions I needed to ask them. Where are they at the moment and what are they doing? Do they’ve households? How did their lives change attributable to their first fight expertise? (It was the primary fight for nearly all of them.) What did they study as Marines that helped them prosper in civilian life? Did they wrestle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? What do they give thought to the struggle at the moment?
When I returned dwelling, I reached out to among the Marines I had often stayed in contact with and began asking questions. I discovered their tales fascinating and highly effective—and so they have been keen to inform them. They clearly didn’t need their service and their sacrifice to be forgotten.
At first, I assumed I might get a very good cross-section with a couple of dozen Marines, however phrase unfold about my mission and requests to be included began pouring in. Eventually I interviewed greater than forty Marines, plus a number of wives and grown kids, whose experiences and insights have been typically as engrossing as these of the Marines. …
I used to be typically shocked, typically surprised, by their honesty, how deep they reached to inform me their tales. On a number of events I heard the phrases “I’ve by no means advised this to anyone who’s not a Marine, however …” I used to be deeply gratified that they nonetheless trusted me in any case these years. …
In writing a tribute to the Marines of three/5, I consider it is essential to honor not solely their service, but additionally their sacrifice—in battle and within the 20 years since. Indeed, there’s fairly a little bit of sacrifice within the pages that comply with, together with loss of life in battle; loss of life by tragic accident; life-changing accidents; and the entire panoply of nightmarish signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Also, after all, dependancy, divorce, and suicide, which are likely to plague the armed forces to a better diploma than the non-military public.
But there’s additionally a lot that is optimistic and life-affirming on this e-book: heroism in battle; the extreme, life-long camaraderie amongst Marines; patriotism and perception in a single’s mission; life-changing traits realized as Marines; and the Post-Traumatic Growth that always follows PTSD.
Excerpt from “Battle Scars,” copyright © 2023 by Chip Reid. Reprinted with permission.
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