Modern War Heroes

Here’s a heartwarming image to send you off into the new year. What a beautiful moment.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a burden on our war veterans. The disorder eats away at their health and causes tears in their lives. Sadly, the articles on the internet highlight the unfortunate directions these soldier lives often take after being diagnosed with PTSD. Some even end tragically by ending their own lives.

The truly tragic side of this terrible illness is that, with proper help, it could be manageable. But the government doesn’t always care for these soldiers, and often, sadly, the soldiers themselves refuse to seek treatment for fear of appearing “weak”.

Enter Pets2Vets.

Dave Sharpe served in the U.S. Air Force. Returning home, he had trouble adjusting to civilian life and felt that he had no one to turn to – no one to share his experiences in Iraq with. This took his toll on him. Before he knew it, he had started displaying violent tendencies. He would wake up in the middle of the night and punch holes in walls or kick down the refrigerator.

A friend took him to an animal shelter and Dave took home a pit bull puppy named Cheyenne. When he next lost his temper and began his violent rampage, he looked over at the young dog staring at him trustingly and broke down.

“I froze, I put down my drink, I picked her up and laid with her in my bed,” he [Sharpe] said. “I cried and I told her the whole story. I didn’t feel judged.” (source)

Given the extraordinary love and support that Cheyenne gave him, Sharpe was inspired to reach out to his fellow vets. He started the organization Pets2Vets. Pets2Vets has the goal to raise awareness of PTSD and to arrange dog adoptions for veterans suffering form the disorder. With these new pets, the veterans have something outside themselves to focus on – a dependent that won’t judge them and will listen to every word said to them.

While family certainly is an important part of the healing process, so often the responsibilities of family can put pressure on the PTSD sufferer – even if that pressure is only imagined. The dogs provide that comfort needed without any strings attached. Just total  love and admiration.

Pets2Vets is still a fledgling operation, but David Sharpe has already seen results. He has hopes to continue to expand across the DC area and soon across the whole country. He also hopes to expand to encompass, not only war veterans, but police, firemen, rescue personnel, and any others who may have emotional trauma.

If you know anyone who may benefit from this organization, or just want more information about it, head over to the Pets2Vets website.

Our thoughts are with this young man’s family.

The latest British soldier to die in Afghanistan has been named as Corporal Simon Hornby, 29, from the 2nd Battalion, the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

Cpl Hornby was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol in the Nad-e-Ali area of Helmand on Saturday. The Liverpudlian’s wife Holly described him as her “hero”.

Cpl Hornby’s death brings the total of British service personnel who have died since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 to 240, including 103 deaths this year.

Cpl Hornby had previously served in Iraq, where he was awarded a commendation for discovering an improvised explosive device and for spoiling an insurgent ambush.

He deployed to Afghanistan as a section commander with Arnhem Company, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment as part of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards Battle Group, according to the Ministry of Defence.

His wife Holly said: “I am devastated by the loss of Simon. “He was proud to be a soldier and died doing the job he loved. He was my hero.” Read on…

We all know of the tragedy in 1941 that struck the U.S. Naval base located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. But you haven’t seen it the way that the pictures show it.

Click here to see Pearl Harbor photos.

Last week Obama traveled to Norway to accept his Nobel Peace Prize. The trip was routine, if disappointingly short for the citizens. But what was not routine was President Obama’s speech.

In a move that can only be classified as gutsy, Obama gave a speech defending war while accepting a peace prize.

In his acceptance speech, Obama told Nobel Committee members and guests in Oslo that achieving peace must begin with the recognition that the use of force is sometimes morally justified.

“Make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida’s leaders to lay down their arms,” he told the crowd.

It was just nine days ago that Obama announced he is sending an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan in an effort to step up training of Afghan security forces and root out insurgents operating on the border with Pakistan.

The president also used the Nobel platform to exhort allies to help eradicate terrorist extremism in Afghanistan.

“I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it,” he said, urging support for NATO and saying peacekeeping responsibilities shouldn’t be left to a few countries. (source)

I found this page over at Good.is. It is a series of photos showing troops inhabiting Saddam’s palaces in Iraq. The contrast between the opulent surroundings and the working soldiers is certainly an interesting one.

I found this story on DETnews.com (The Detroit News) and thought it was really sweet. To sum it up, a young Iraqi boy named Mohammed who had been injured in a house fire when he was an infant. He has had a hard life growing up. He lost his father to terrorists who didn’t like that he was acting as an interpreter for the American forces. They killed him and threatened his family.With his father dead, his mother had no means for support and begged on the streets.

But Mohammed caught the eye of Michigan soldier David Howell. David swore that he would do what he could for the young man. He said he “felt an obligation as an American to do something for this family”.

After hard works and miles of red tape, Howell succeeded  in his efforts to have Mohammed relocated to the United States. Here he received much needed medical care and reconstructive surgery.

Mohammed is scheduled to return to Iraq in April. Understandably he has mixed feelings about the journey.

“I am excited about seeing my brothers and sisters, but I am not excited about going back to Iraq,” said Mohammed, who calls his family weekly to share his progress. “There are terrorists there. I am afraid I am going to get killed in Iraq.” (source)

One day hopefully Mohammed can feel safe at home once again.