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Those old OIF moto-videos really hit different. If you were in the Corps around that time, you were surely shown a variety of different motivational videos from Iraq to such great hits as “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” and Seether’s “Out of My Way,” at the School of Infantry (and maybe even boot camp).
This comic is based on a true story… Well, partly. No, I didn’t show the kids any of these old LiveLeak classics, but my toddler goes to daycare and his teachers did ask me to come in for Veterans Day and talk to the pre-schoolers about my service.
My favorite part was showing them a photo of some Iraqi children I took along the Syrian border back in 2009.
“They’re at the beach!” they shouted out, seeing the surrounding sand.
Not quite.
This Veterans Day has been more melancholy than usual for me. For what it’s worth, I always felt like I did a good job of separating my personal life from my “work,” (which, because of Terminal Lance, happens to be very closely tied to my military service).
As I was going through the photos from Iraq that I was going to show the class, I became overwhelmed with emotions that I think I had been avoiding for many years. It was a strange time in a strange land… We were all so young.
Maybe I never actually found what I was looking for.
Is that kid named Red Herring? ?