Liberty Star
12-28-2009, 06:01 PM
Not often discussed human sacrifice some of our soldiers make for freedom of Iraqis and Afghans:
Toll Of War: Broken Hearts, Marriages For Marines
The Marines fighting in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province are facing a tough Taliban insurgency. They're also facing the strain of separation from fiancees, wives and kids.
The deployment is starting to take its toll as the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marine Regiment out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., known as "America's Battalion," nears the halfway point of its seven-month mission in Afghanistan.
One Marine, after arguing with his wife on the phone, threw his wedding ring out into a wheat field.
Another Marine's wife told him she wanted a divorce, and he was eager to forget about his home life by going on endless patrols.
"I made him stop and take a couple of patrols off," says 2nd Lt. Sam Oliver, a platoon leader with the 2/8 Marines. "But it's his way of dealing with it. If keeping busy is keeping him sane, I'm all about it."
The battalion's more than 800 Marines are part of the thousands of additional troops the Obama administration sent to Afghanistan this summer to counter the Taliban insurgency and help the country prepare for national elections on Thursday.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111988038
Toll Of War: Broken Hearts, Marriages For Marines
The Marines fighting in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province are facing a tough Taliban insurgency. They're also facing the strain of separation from fiancees, wives and kids.
The deployment is starting to take its toll as the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marine Regiment out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., known as "America's Battalion," nears the halfway point of its seven-month mission in Afghanistan.
One Marine, after arguing with his wife on the phone, threw his wedding ring out into a wheat field.
Another Marine's wife told him she wanted a divorce, and he was eager to forget about his home life by going on endless patrols.
"I made him stop and take a couple of patrols off," says 2nd Lt. Sam Oliver, a platoon leader with the 2/8 Marines. "But it's his way of dealing with it. If keeping busy is keeping him sane, I'm all about it."
The battalion's more than 800 Marines are part of the thousands of additional troops the Obama administration sent to Afghanistan this summer to counter the Taliban insurgency and help the country prepare for national elections on Thursday.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111988038