At Walter Reed ArmyMedical Center years ago I listened to a man who although missing both legs cracked jokes with a contagious sense of humor The soldier's face quickly clouded over however when I pointedly asked him how things were back home Looking down at his new prosthetic legs he whispered My marriage is on the rocks and it doesn't look good The loss of his legs didn't keep him from joking but the wounds of his heart silenced the laughter In that same PT room Gracie walked over to a soldier missing his right leg and lying on a [... more]

In the physical therapy room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center Gracie and I encountered wounded soldiers dealing with various forms of friendly fire One soldier in particular lost a leg due to being hit by his own team and other soldiers dealt with crumbling marriages and families as they struggled to recover from devastating wounds How many of us deal with deep wounds caused by those on our own team How many of us have caused damage to the ones we love and swore to protect Sometimes friendly fire wounds are compounded with the shame of the wound itself [... more]

During one of our many visits to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to meet with wounded warriors we met a bitter young soldier struggling with wounds he received from friendly fire In a terrible mistake he suffered injuries from his own country's military As my wife Gracie walked over to greet him he rudely snapped at her Lying on his back while working out on a physical therapy table he could only see Gracie from the waist up This young man had no idea of her seventy plus operations or the loss of both of her own legs The physical [... more]