Vivid, intimate storytelling by service members and military-connected civilians that provides the emotional context for our reporting.
You just sort of exist, either standing up working or lying down asleep. There is no pleasant in-between. The velvet is all gone from the living.
In an instantaneous flash of violence, the hopes and dreams they’d woven vanished in the dirt 5,000 miles from home.
I went from a world of chaos, poverty, and dysfunction to one of order, discipline, and regular meals. The Navy gave me the structure and consistency I needed.
I missed being a parent with him. Not all the crappy parts—the disciplining, nose wiping, puke cleaning, lunch packing. But I missed the funny parts.
Dealing with still-drunk combatants who often outranked me and wanted a second round with the bouncer was never easy.
‘Embrace the Suck’–Life as a Gold Star Child is a Race With No Finish Line
|in Reflections | Bailey DonahueI can’t accept that he’s a few feet away from me, waiting to join a sea of white stones and perfectly cut green grass. I don’t want to walk away.