Reflections

For the longest time, I didn’t look forward to the holidays the way a dad of three ought to. I once thought it was because I was raised on little extravagance, especially with respect to Christmas and gifts in general.But after an evening…

I landed on Iwo Jima for the first time in 1998. I was a young Marine sergeant serving as an infantry squad leader during a six-month deployment to Okinawa, Japan. Most who make the pilgrimage to the tiny island stay only a few hours. I was…

During the first week of December 1991, my wife, Lin, and I met our friend Richard Fiske for dinner at the Chart House in Honolulu, Hawaii, as we had done on many occasions.I’d been stationed at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, for three…

“It is on the ship—assume you have it. We will find and beat this thing down.”The alarming words from our skipper about Covid-19 aboard the USS Ronald Reagan caused a cascade of restrictions for our standard operating procedures while on…

This article is part of Short Changed, a series looking at the noncombat deaths of women going back to 9/11.As of Jan. 17, veterans thinking about hurting themselves can get free crisis care, including inpatient, for up to 90 days at…

My husband’s phone rang on our way to get ice cream, and my heart sank just as the baby in my belly kicked. I rubbed and patted the bump, soothing away her restlessness and my immediate need for butter pecan.“So, she woke up with his…

A Delta Force unit zipped over the barren desert. Two Black Hawks contained assault forces. Four Little Birds carried riders and artillery. It was a perfect blue sky in Taji, Iraq. The operators stalked a high-profile target. All went…

It is March of 2023. I am in a cafe watching the Iraq War’s early stages play out in short clips on a television mounted on the wall in front of me. Marines barge through doors in Fallujah, unsure if it is violent death or an empty room…

I steered the jeep off the dusty, rutted main road and rattled down a well-worn track until I beheld a bizarre juxtaposition of images: the silhouette of a thousand-year-old Hindu temple cheek by jowl with something resembling a porcupine…

“Sean, can you go assist that gentleman outside? He was in the Marines too, so I figured you’d have something to bond over.”I rolled my eyes. This was my first job post-college, and I didn’t like advertising my service in the civilian…