Reflections

Editor’s note: This is Part II of a two-part story. Read Part I here.IMPACT plus one second Tumbling end over end, the remaining intact portion of the number four aircraft plummeted toward earth with Vince strapped to his ejection seat. He…

IMPACT minus 2 hours and 1 minuteYou could always identify the schedulers. They were the ones who ran from room to room attempting to fill flight sorties when instructor pilots had canceled for some reason or another. That morning was no…

I turned off the patient’s ventilator and stood over him as his heart slowed and his breathing grew shallow. It was his own body killing him now—and he would die with none of his family there to witness his final breaths.He was a stranger,…

The city swirled around me in a kaleidoscope of colors: high-rises that gleamed in the sun like pastel-colored mirrors, palm trees with dancing emerald leaves, women in beautiful sparkly heels that peeked out from beneath their burqas. A…

Drop a pebble into a pond and, after the initial splash, ripples spread across the water. It’s a familiar image, one we know so intuitively that everyone understands immediately what you mean by the phrase “ripple effect.” Yet, even when…

My stepfather, brother, and I served in Afghanistan and Iraq. We are still there, frozen in the suck—a boomer, a Gen Xer, and a millennial—ducking mortars, mourning dead colleagues, and waiting for care packages curated by Mom. For seven…

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With less than a handful of days remaining in December, an eclectic range of Christmas decorations adorns the boats in the harbor. As my gaze drifts from the gently swaying winterized vessels to the gray haze across the horizon, my thoughts…

As of Jan. 17, veterans thinking about hurting themselves can get free crisis care, including inpatient, for up to 90 days at Veterans Affairs. They do not need to be enrolled in VA care. For immediate help, dial 988, then press 1.My…

I was a shitbag.When I shipped off to Army basic training at Fort Benning, my dad had a bet that I wouldn’t graduate, even though he encouraged my enlistment.See, my dad was a military cadet in the Philippine military. According to him and…