www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1635067/posts
He chose the Marines, enlisting right out of high school. The Marines sent him to Iraq, and then to Fallouja, where his life was forever altered. He survived a harrowing all-night firefight in November 2004, pinned down on a rooftop by insurgents firing from a nearby house. Filthy and exhausted, he had just lighted a Marlboro at dawn when an embedded photographer captured an image that transformed Blake into an icon of the Iraq war. His detached expression in the photo seemed to signify different things to different people -- valor, despair, hope, futility, fear, courage, disillusionment. For Blake, the photograph represents a pivotal moment in his life: an instant when he feared he would never see another sunrise, and when his psychological foundation began to fracture. Blake, whose only brush with celebrity was as a star quarterback in high school, became known as the Marlboro Man, a label he detests. That same notoriety has carried over into his post-Iraq life, where he is an icon of sorts for another consequence of the war -- post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. James Blake Miller was medically discharged from the Marine Corps, diagnosed with full-blown PTSD. Three years after leaving the Kentucky hills for a career in the Corps, he was back home. He feels adrift and tormented, dependent on his new bride, his family and his military psychiatrist to help him make sense of all that has befallen him.
View Replies To: Lee Heggy123 When you stare into the abyss, you stare into the depth of hell. This warrior has every right to hate the war, the mission, the carnage, the fear.
View Replies To: areafiftyone This may not be the best time to make the observation, but it's quite relevant. PTSD is not possible in a war that is really a war, not a PC exercise, where fighting a "kinder and gentler" war for "minds and hearts" is the goal. Where the leadership, as well as the participants have no clear and consuming passion for what their clear goal is: punish the enemy and win.
View Replies To: bubman Only those who have been there knows what it is. I forget which Native American Chief said it but its so true. "Glory is like a fish on a river bank bathed in moonlight.
My husband is blind due to a service related progressive eye disease. I have never heard him say one time that he was sorry that he had served our country. The poster that said that this guy should have never been in the Marines in the first place is right.
View Replies To: areafiftyone a 20-pound piece of equipment that he had to lug around along with nine extra batteries, hundreds of extra rounds of ammunition, and a couple of cartons of cigarettes.
View Replies To: Lib-Lickers 2 "If he has PTSD that bad from Iraq he shouldn't have been in the Marines in the first place" That's not something you can plan for. " Sixty-two years later he is still crying over what he experienced in Europe.
View Replies To: areafiftyone I say we cut the man some slack. He served his country honorably, and that's all we can ask of him. One can't possibly know in advance how being in a war will affect someone.
View Replies To: Lib-Lickers 2 I've got a good Gunny friend, Vietnam vet with CAR, Desert Storm vet, 20 year retiree, 100% disability rating from PTSD who might disagree with you...
View Replies To: bubman nobody is dumping on him but one night(according to the article) pinned down in Fallouja makes you get a condition which used to take months and years of intense combat to get?
View Replies To: Lib-Lickers 2 "this guy didn't see 1/100 of war that others I do know and have known who were in combat in places like Iwo Jima, Okinawa and with Patton to the heart of Germany and they came back to run banks, companies and teach" Whoa, give the kid a break. We weren't there, we don't know what he's seen or done and neither do your WWII pals. As a vet I tell you I've met more so called combat vets and special ops guys since I retired than I ever did in 20 years of active duty. In my book the only thing this kid is guilty of is serving his country which is a lot more than some of the people criticizing him. He's young, he's got time to figure all of this out and get on with the rest of his life. Instead of questioning his fitness for service after he's fought for your country you should be thanking him.
View Replies To: Lib-Lickers 2 nobody is dumping on him but one night(according to the article) pinned down in Fallouja makes you get a condition which used to take months and years of intense combat to get? At a briefing the next day, Miller's gunnery sergeant walked up to him, grinning, and said: "Would you believe you're the most famous f -- Marine in the Marine Corps right now? Believe it or not, your ugly mug just went all over the US" The Marines wanted to pull him out of Fallujah at that point, Miller said, not wanting the very public poster boy to die in combat. He only mentions moments, like still frames from a film. The day his column barely survived an ambush, escaping through a broken door as bullets struck near their feet. The morning he woke up to discover that a cat had taken up residence in the open chest cavity of an Iraqi body nearby, consuming it from within.
View Replies To: Lib-Lickers 2 God forbid he was in WW2(Iwo Jima and all the other islands to Japan or DDay to the heart of Germany) He did everything he was supposed to do, in combat.
View Replies To: Belasarius That's not something you can plan for. " Sixty-two years later he is still crying over what he experienced in Europe. In WWII, soldiers fought on until they were killed or crippled, with short leaves in between long stints in combat. It just makes his post-combat experience atypical of even conscripted troops, many of which fought WWII.
View Replies To: Lib-Lickers 2 nobody is dumping on him but one night(according to the article) pinned down in Fallouja makes you get a condition which used to take months and years of intense combat to get? God bless him for serving but maybe the Marine corps needs to do a better job of filtering these people out BEFORE they go into combat this guy in my opinion had some issues before he went I'll have to agree. I salute his bravery in overcoming these issues for the duration of his war service. But ultimately, I think the problem is in the selection process. Army recruiters should be emphasizing the patriotism and adventure angles much more than the career development angle. This way, you filter out the people who aren't cut out to be a part of the combat arms.
View Replies To: Zhang Fei thank you how bout the real heroes who bash in a door and single handily kill 5 terrorist on the second story taking out the ones who had been snipering his buddies?
View Replies To: Zhang Fei you are correct,, the DI's aren't allowed to touch or even curse at you anymore some WW2 vets I saw said that is a BIG mistake you want to know how you are going to handle stress and if you can't weed em out in Basic then you are going to have big trouble when they get into combat now they have women in Basic along side the men?
View Replies To: Zhang Fei I knew a lot of WWII vets, your right many of them came home and went on with their lives. I knew quite a few that were pill popping alcoholic's too and many of them were drunk or high to forget their experiences. Of course then we hadn't coined the phrase PTSD we just turned our backs on em. I am a vet and suffer from PTSD, and I say most of you talking crap about this Marine don't know what the hell your talking about.
My husband is blind due to a service related progressive eye disease. I have never heard him say one time that he was sorry that he had served our country. The poster that said that this guy should have never been in the Marines in the first place is right. I have had PTSS and I'll bet the farm it came on the first night he was under attack. They used to call it shell shock to ones who were in loud environments. The fire fight that night likely damaged his Vestibular System. There is a direct medical Neurological connection between Vestibular Disorder be it from noises , congenital, or from such medical disorders as sinus allergies. They can a...
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