War Story

"This post also appears in the excellent book "The Blog of War" by my good friend Matthew Currier Burden Major, US Army (RET). I figured I would repost it here, with the original title and the Anna Nalick lyrics put back in, for those of you that haven't read the book and because I think it's one of my best pieces of writing.

Nearly two hours later the patrol was back at the scene, the only evidence of the drama that had unfolded there were the still bright puddles of blood and a few scraps of plastic from the battle dressings and Kerlix we had used.

Everything else was gone.

The blood soaked flannel shirt and T shirt I had cut off the man I was working on. His jeans, well, those had been carried off seconds after I had pull them off the man by a woman in a black abaya, the half empty water bottle, the car the men were riding in, blood splattered interior, the windows frosted and crazed by bullets, the door skins pocked marked with more strikes.

I shouldn't be surprised but I was. Iraq is like that. Every time I think that I have finally seen it all - seen everything that there possibly is to see - that my capacity to be shocked or amazed is over Iraq will show me something else. Just to prove me wrong."
This is your War II