Thanks for the heads up on these articles. My son Travis got back in Dec. from his second deployment. He is a Capt. With the 3rd ID out of Ft. Stewart. He first one was to Afghanistan and then Iraq. I remember meeting him at the airport and he told me later he wished he could have turned around and gone back. He still had his combat fatigues on and here we were in another world. How do you turn off the warrior who so much is required of when he is returned to an oblivious society. I know the frustrarion and sense of being out of place they feel when they return. I suppose we are all war weary but we owe more to these men and women than they get.

Michael, I couldn't agree more. You really should get Marlantes's book. He is a decorated Vietnam vet, and the book is about how we prepare our soldiers and how we return them to society. We don't do a very good job of it. I think your son would get a lot out of the book too. Marlantes also wrote a great novel about Vietnam called Matterhorn. Dean