unknown

my first english assignment since middle school that i've had to write any type of prose. the topic: write the first chapter of your own war story.

            It has been exactly thirty days since I first arrived home. After pushing myself through a grueling boot camp, and a long 14 months in combat in Afghanistan, home was an unfamiliar sight. I’d spent the first 22 years of my life in this town, but after 14 months away, this place had become as unfamiliar to me as walking into a foreign city. Things felt different around here now. My life in Afghanistan had become normal for me. I had grown accustomed to sleeping in holes almost every night, and waking up to gunshots and bombshells exploding. Being a part of the Army’s Infantry left me exposed to injury and death every day. A lot of times, I was unsure if I would make it out of combat or not. I learned when to expect certain things, even though each day was different. I had fallen into a strange routine. I wasn’t sure how I accomplished it, or even what my routine was exactly. In a sick and twisted way, I was beginning to enjoy my daily routine.

            It was rudely interrupted however when I was injured on the front lines during combat. A bomb had exploded where my friend Liam and I had been standing. In the same instant that I was injured, Liam died. I didn’t discover that until later, but I had a strange sense something was wrong. Other soldiers flung themselves over top of me to protect me until help could arrive. It felt like I laid there for hours. I felt no pain, only a numbing sensation rippling through my body. Later in the hospital, I was told that Liam had died, and that my injury was too serious for me to return to the infantry. I took both bits of news in quietly, allowing myself to absorb them. I didn’t cry for Liam, and I didn’t cry for myself. I blanketed my emotions as I had been taught to do in boot camp.

            Before I returned home, I flew out to his home state of Kentucky so I could be there for his parents and family members. They were honored to have my presence at his funeral, and I could feel the sadness in everybody that day. I silently said goodbye to Liam, and made my way back to my own town.

            Learning to accustom to civilian life again has been excruciatingly difficult for me. I have no one in my life, no family and no girlfriend or wife. My parents died when I was 20. I joined the army shortly after their passing. I lost many of my friends during the long 14 months of my absence. This life would already be difficult to return to even if I had been healthy. However, my injury only made it that much more difficult. I had broken my shin and foot, and lost a chunk of my hipbone. My leg was damaged pretty badly during The Incident, as I refer to it. I am still attending physical therapy classes and counseling sessions. People are constantly asking me how I am feeling and whether or not I want to talk about things. I don’t particularly want to talk about anything, especially not The Incident. I just want to pursue my physical therapy and continue counseling for as long as they insist, and then re-enlist.

            I cannot live out the rest of my life as a civilian. I cannot move through everyday life, just going through the motions of caring about inconsequential things. After the horrible things I witnessed on the front lines of combat, nothing could ever be the same. I live alone, and have lost friends. Re-creating a life for myself as a civilian seems ridiculous to me. How do I adjust to life like this after everything I went through in the infantry? It’s impossible to me.

            Most people can’t bring themselves to understand why I could ever want to return to such a grueling and cruel place. What I can’t understand, is how they don’t understand. I want to return to my old life, I want to be where it is familiar. My home has become a very strange place to me, and I want to be back in the hot desert, fighting for what I believe in. it’s the only thing that I’ve come to know, and the sooner I return, the quicker I can heal.    

Author's Note

this was assigned after we read all quiet on the western front. i haven't actually finished the book yet but i'm coming close. the idea with this chapter is that a man is injured on the front lines of battle in the war in afghanistan and after attempting civilian life, wants to re-enlist. i'm not sure if i did it write, or how fast people can review this, but i'd love to hear what you have to say. call me out on anything you think needs adjusting! (: