On the same year that my mother divorced my father and move away, I watched my oldest brother who had always been a part of my life for years ship off to Iraq for his first tour. During the time, I didn't know if he'd even come back or if he would die there. He was part of armored infantry so he was definitely at risk of hitting an IED, he did in fact get in a firefight with insurgents and got injured. He then came back with PTSD and his fiancee at the time broke off the marriage. He struggled with his PTSD for a long time and the man who I looked up to hid it the entire time behind a smile.

For those wondering, he is better now. He completed therapy for his PTSD a couple years back, he is now married to a woman far better than his ex, and he has a good and stable life now. He made it back alive and survived, which some veterans don't do. He is my brother, more than anything else, and I was broken after not hearing anything from him while he was on tour.