Soft Spots: A Marine's Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Van Winkle, Clint, PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Press, "A powerful, haunting, provocative ong>memoirong> ong>ofong> a Marine in Iraq--and his struggle ong>withong> Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a system trying to hide the damage done "Marine Sergeant Clint Van Winkle flew to war on Valentine's Day . His battalion was among the first wave ong>ofong> troops that crossed into Iraq, and his first combat experience was the battle ong>ofong> Nasiriyah, followed by patrols throughout the country, house to house searches, and operations in the dangerous Baghdad slums. But after two tours ong>ofong> duty, certain images would not leave his memory--a fragmented mental movie ong>ofong> shooting a little girl; ong>ofong> scavenging parts from a destroyed, blood-spattered tank; ong>ofong> obliterating several Iraqi men hiong>ddong>en behind an ancient wall; and ong>ofong> mistakenly stepping on a "song>ofong>t spot," the remains ong>ofong> a Marine killed in combat. After his return home, Van Winkle sought help at a Veterans Administration facility, and so began a maong>ddong>ening journey through an indifferent system that promises to care for veterans, but in fact abandons many ong>ofong> them. From riveting scenes ong>ofong> combat violence, to the gallows humor ong>ofong> soldiers fighting a war that seems to make no sense, to moments ong>ofong> tenderness in a civilian life ravaged by flashbacks, rage, and doubt, "Song>ofong>t Spots "ong>revong>eals the mind ong>ofong> a soldier like no other recent ong>memoirong> ong>ofong> the war that has consumed America.