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Spotsylvania Iraq war veteran struggles to adjust after three tours
Date published: 1/24/2010
Isaiah Schaffer joined the Marines at 17, eager to fight for his country. After three tours in Iraq, he is back home in Spotsylvania struggling with the physical and psychic wounds of the war. This is the first of a two-part series about Schaffer and his efforts to recapture a normal life. BY BRIAN BAERIt's after 2 a.m., and Isaiah Schaffer's Marine unit is patrolling the city of Haditha in northwestern Iraq. The farming town--along with Falujah--is one of the hot spots in an escalating war in March 2004. Schaffer and his fellow Marines spot a few Iraqis in the distance. Most of his unit withdraws to the safety of their boats near the Euphrates River. Schaffer and a handful of other Marines are ordered to stay behind to keep a distant watch in case the Iraqis are insurgents. The hunch is right. Within minutes, about 15 Iraqis emerge and launch an attack on the Marines. Schaffer fires his own M-249 assault weapon and starts running. The remaining Marines--outnumbered by a ratio of 3-to-1--race toward the waiting boats. A grenade explodes, and Schaffer twists his left knee. Unable to walk, he crawls into the cold water until it covers him. He has nothing more to give. In desperation, Schaffer thrusts his weapon just above the water's surface. And he prays that a friendly face will see his hand and pull him up. THE REALITY OF WAR It's not an easy story for Schaffer to tell. He served three tours in Iraq: in 2003, 2004 and 2005. He signed up at 17, eager for the warrior's life he'd always dreamed of. He left for Iraq at 19 as a gung-ho young Marine. He was medevacked home, for good, on his 21st birthday, not sure he'd made the right decision. Along the way, he killed Iraqi insurgents and, he quietly suggests, innocent civilians who were mistaken for bad guys. Schaffer is now 25. He's a doting dad to a beautiful 4-month-old girl. He lives in his own Spotsylvania County apartment. And he has friends to watch the Sunday ballgames with. But his life, in many ways, is at a standstill.
Date published: 1/24/2010
You'all would be speaking one or more languages and not English. The USA is the most powerful military force on the planet yet we fight wars with 2 hands tied behind our back, that is why men and women get more than 1 tour in a war zone.
One hand is tied by the Americans who do not support war for ANY reason, and the other due to politicians who'd rather get elected and re-elected rather than fight wars to WIN. Now THAT is shameful.
What a sad commentary on our military system. I'm sure there are legions of men and women who could say the same thing. Very sad. Wonder how many would be signing up for the "warrior life" if this were the recruiting slogan. Good luck to this young man. I hope he can find some peace and manage to salvage his life. Looks like the military got what they wanted out of the deal.
A fellow I know participated in WW2 on the other
side. His combat tour as an Infantry Officer started
in 1939 in the invasion of Poland and ended in
defeat in Berlin in May 1945.
He never slept a full night until the day he died.
Combat is inhuman. Let drones do the killing.
I know Isaiah personally, and he is one heck of an amazing
man. Yeah-- he struggles daily with this terrible PTSD, but I
think despite the daily ups and downs of knowing him, and
dealing with the days that he wants to talk to me or the
days he doesnt--- I still know that he is amazing. I pray daily
for Isaiah even though he doesn't play a huge role in my
life, simply because I want him to be well and be able to live
a life that a true Hero deserves.
I know Isaiah personally, and he is one heck of an amazing
man. Yeah-- he struggles daily with this terrible PTSD, but I
think despite the daily ups and downs of knowing him, and
dealing with the days that he wants to talk to me or the
days he doesnt--- I still know that he is amazing. I pray daily
for Isaiah even though he doesn't play a huge role in my
life, simply because I want him to be well and be able to live
a life that a true Hero deserves.
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