THE GRUNTS
ing killed and maimed, usually
with nowhere to return fire. When
the enemy did appear, it it was
hard to sort out combatant from
civilian, or child.
At home, as the rest of America
gradually decided to oppose the
wars as wrong and unjustified
or futile, it became difficult for
troops and their families to justify
long and repeated deployments.
Navy Cmdr. Steve Dundas, a
chaplain, went to Iraq in 2007
bursting with zeal to help fulfill the
Bush administration’s goal of creating a modern, democratic U.S. ally.
“Seeing the devastation of Iraqi cities and towns, some of it caused by
us, some by the insurgents and the
civil war that we brought about,
hit me to the core,” Dundas said. “I
felt lied to by our senior leadership.
And I felt those lies cost too many
thousands of American lives and
far too much destruction.”
Dundas returned home broken,
his faith in God and in his country shattered. In addition, he was
diagnosed with chronic severe
PTSD. Over time, with the help
of therapists, friends and what he
calls his “Christmas miracle,” his
faith has returned.
As the wars dragged on it became clear that the campaigns to
HUFFINGTON
03.16-23.14
win hearts and minds were not
working, and often not appreciated. For some who fought, the
memories of their sacrifices have
since become tempered by the
recent deterioration of security in
Iraq and Afghanistan. “We did it
all for nothing,” said Darren Doss,
25, a former Marine who fought
“People say, ‘Thanks for your service.’
Do you know what I did over there?
It just seems like you’re being
patronized. Don’t do that to me.”
in Marjah, Afghanistan, and lost
friends in battle.
In both wars, con