America's sons and daughters.

Hilary Valdez, MS, is a Survivor Outreach Services Coordinator for the U.S. Army in Tokyo, Japan and provides services that support the Families of Fallen Soldiers. He conducts support groups and life skills training to the community and leadership. My reassignment to the desolate, harsh environment of the Mojave Desert came as quite a shock. Leaving my family to join sturdy, hard core Marines at the largest Marine Corps base in the world, all of whom were deploying to Operation Iraqi Freedom II was exhilarating and distressing. It was hard to believe that young men and women: warriors, Olympians, brave athletes, in the prime of their lives could be so shattered by the horrors of war. Youthful and battle-hardened combatants returned from Iraq with a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star and battle decorations for bravery under fire while saving fellow Marines and their country. Many warriors returned without a limb. In their dreams however, they relive the violent episodes of witnessing a 50mm round taking a life, the deadly effects of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and the all too familiar process of “clearing a room” of insurgents, where the first Marine entering a room was usually wounded or killed.