Iraq: A legacy of war - BBC News

Time to get another coffee and read this Tony. Thanks.

All of us that went there left a piece behind. For some, it was a friend who was killed. Others, a limb or a pint of their own blood that now fertilizes a small patch of bleak desert. Maybe it was a marriage that got sacrificed on that altar, or your ability to sleep peacefully at night. Maybe you just can't enjoy things as you used to, concerts and carnivals become swirls of people who might be dangerous.

That brings me back to was it worth it. Do the Iraqis think so? I rather doubt it. As for me, I know that I accomplished quite a lot. Many terrorists are dead because of stuff I did. I was a part of building numerous facilities that made life a little more bearable for the people left to live there. But it cost me four good Soldiers, and several more with life-changing injuries. I also know that quite a few are alive and whole because of my actions, and still more from training that I was deadly serious about them understanding before they ever left the wire.
I did my part. No medal or ribbon quite measures that, nor did promotions or "thank yous" for my service. The only thing that really, really matters to me is when one of my former Soldiers calls me out of the blue, wanting counsel or a job reference. Invariably, at some point in the conversation, they say something about what our time together meant for them and how they thought of me as a leader. That means so much more than anything else. Even today, I still serve because there is just ONE. MORE. THING. that I might impart that they can use when they need it.
But there will always be a part of me that is a Staff Sergeant in the dirt doing a job no one but the dozen men and women around me cared about. I hate that. And I want to do it again.

Looks familiar ) :