Jillian

“Peace surfaced here. Hard to imagine a person finding peace through war, but no one finds peace in war—peace finds you. It crawls into your sleeping bag and helps you fall asleep, nudges your arm, tells you to turn over, think about home.”
― Clint Van Winkle, Soft Spots: A Marine's Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

“I missed the war and the freedom that came with it. When you are that close to death, you feel free. Every breath you take could be your last. So you inhale and savor each breath, try not to think about your death even though signs of it are all around you. The freedom comes from knowing that if anybody gives you crap, you can eliminate them and the situation. Just shoot and get it over with.”
― Clint Van Winkle, Soft Spots: A Marine's Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

“Who supports the troops? The troops support the troops.”
― Clint Van Winkle, Soft Spots: A Marine's Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

“Everyone acted like they knew so much about the war. But none of them really knew anything besides what they had learned through Internet searches or shady half-truths political pundits spouted from the comfort of their news desks. Nothing could ever be flushed out because nobody bothered to ask the troops or look at both sides of the story.”
― Clint Van Winkle, Soft Spots: A Marine's Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder