Today’s Urban Valor story brings us Marine Corps veteran Corporal Paul
Parkhurst in this veteran interview.
Paul takes us through his life before joining the Marines, while in
the Marines, and the struggle of transitioning out of the military after
witnessing traumatic experiences.
Paul recalls a war story where he was shipped off to Kuwait in 2003 in
preparation for the Invasion of Iraq, just 2 months after joining his fleet.
As part of Task Force Tarawa, Paul battled the mental strain of sleep exhaustion and stressors of war intensified by the reminders of the price of battle as his convoy drove past
dead bodies along the roads.
He shares with us the psychological effects of leaving for a second
deployment immediately following the first and highlighting the impact of
being subjected to horrific circumstances. Paul's war story also reminds the audience
that leaving the service -- which for him happened 9 days after returning
home from Afghanistan -- does not mean leaving the stress and anxiety
behind.
Paul courageously speaks about the consequences of war and the necessity
of seeking assistance regarding mental health, which could manifest into
physical ailments.
To those watching, this episode will be a reminder of the impact war has on
combat veterans while in combat and even more so after coming home from
combat.
About Urban Valor:
Welcome to Urban Valor, where we hear the stories of our veteran heroes in
their own words. Within these vet interviews, you'll hear everything from
combat stories, life stories pre/post military, military transition, and
everything in between.
Our interviews aren't just war interviews or combat veteran interviews, but
interviews from any military veteran willing to share. Our hope is to educate
the masses with what our military veterans went through while serving their
country and how life has been since their military transition back to civilian
life.