Profile
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| User: | cowboymarine (5815638)  The Long Road
Recovery, Discovery, Life |
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| Name: | Cowboy Marine | |||
| E-mail: |
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| Bio: |
DISCLAIMER: In accordance with regulations, the contents of this journal are my opinions and feelings as an individual and not as a representative of the D oD or the US Military. Statements made here are not for the record and are only my personal thoughts at any given moment and are not to be associated with any group or institution. NOTE: Please do not link or site this journal without permission. I am not part of any political movement or wish my story to be used by anyone for political purposes. This journal is not to be reprinted or used without my permission. This journal is my personal feelings and I request that my personal privacy be respected. In that same tone, I do not use my name in this journal, if you comment and know me I ask you do the same. Much of this journal is open to be read, but that is to benefit those who wish to be anonymous and my to my friends who cannot be open. Please respect this as I don't want to make my journal "friends only", which my family is urging. If you would like to add me as a friend please give me an email to introduce yourself. ********* Updated 7 February 2006 ************* I am a former United States Marine currently living with my family after spending nearly a year in a military hospital after receiving wounds in Iraq. I received my wounds from an IED attack (roadside bomb) and the follow on ambush. Despite my effort and those of other squads (and the most amazing Navy Corpsman) my buddies traveling with me died while I survived. I was transported to our soil and was out of it for a while. When I awoke, I was in a cast with a metal erector set sticking out of my body for several months. In December of 2005 I reentered the hospital for additional procedures and was released in February 2006. I am undergoing extensive physical and occupational therapy. As of today my health is stable and it has improved greatly since the time I began this journal. I am 6' 2 1/2 and weighed 190lbs before I was wounded; I dropped as low as 120 lbs and more recently I have consistently been above 155 to 160lbs. I am mostly deaf, scars all over, and I have pins holding me together. My internal organs were injured and I had complications that caused an infection to attack my heart. Some of my problems are not just physical, I have a brain injury which affects my memory, ability to handwrite, do simple math, and who knows I just don't remember anymore. Sometimes (I hate to admit) I lack the ability to control my emotions. During my hospitalization I began to use this journal following a dark episode. I am not looking for sympathy or pity - I am just using this journal to express how I feel at any given time. I have the greatest love & respect for my buddies, brothers - sisters, who serve all over the world to protect our freedoms. We do not select our missions; we serve the elected leadership of the people. As a good Marine, I do not question a legal order given by my command. You are entitled to your opinions on the war and our leaders, and you are open to support them or criticize them. If you want to tear down my buddies or me for doing our jobs you are not welcome here in my journal. I am gay. To anyone who has a problem with my serving and being gay; I joined when I was 18, when I did not understand my sexuality. I have served honorably for more than 6 years and have never disgraced the uniform. My sexuality has never impacted my service, well maybe it has for the better. I never told - and was never asked. The biggest problem has not been ‘being gay”, but how the added pressure affected my mental state while in the hospital. The pressure of being in the closet almost finished off what the Iraqi's started. I now have a partner who also is a wounded veteran; he brings me great joy and mutual love and respect. So just fair warning… I love to tease, joke and play, and I am not always serious everyday. No question is off limits - feel free to ask, you might not get an answer but you will always get a response. Feel free to write and I promise to write you in return. | |||
| Memories:: | 28 entries | |||
| Pictures: | over 100 public | |||
| Interests: | 59: american history, benjamin franklin, bill of rights, boxer briefs, c s lewis, catholic, chat, cicero, civil liberties, constitution, cycling, democracy, dreams, establishment clause, federalist #10, federalist papers, founding fathers, france, french, gay marriage, hiking, history, horses, italy, james madison, lincoln, livejournal, love, macbeth, michelangelo, monet, moon, movies, nature, night sky, occupational therapy, ottoman empire, peace, philosophy, physical therapy, ptsd, reading, rembrandt, republicanism, sailing, sex, sle, snhl, spirituality, st francis, stars, swimming, tbi, the art of war, theodore roosevelt, u.s. constitution, washington, water, william shakespeare | |||
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| Account type: | Paid Account | |||
