A Soldier Speaks -- Alternet.org

[IrateCitizen]

Alternet.org is running a series of articles leading up to the election under the title, "A Soldier Speaks". The articles are designed to give the impressions of the Iraq War from the soldiers who have fought in it and come back with some form of injury or another -- be it physical or emotional.

Today's installment is with Rob Sarra, a member of Iraq Vets Against the War. I had the honor of meeting and marching with Rob at the RNC, and am happy that his message is getting out -- even if it doesn't permit the telling of his whole story regarding his experiences, a story that is incredibly moving.

A Soldier Speaks: Robert Sarra
By Lakshmi Chaudhry, AlterNet
Posted on October 29, 2004, Printed on October 29, 2004

Editor's Note: This is the fourth in a series of profiles of some of the tens of thousands of Iraq War veterans who have come home bearing the scars of battle – emotional and physical wounds that may never heal unless the nation pays them the attention and care that they deserve. We at AlterNet believe that in an election defined by a deep and bitter partisan divide, it is the one issue that can and must bring us all together as Americans.

When Rob Sarra headed out to Iraq in January, 2003 as an infantry sergeant, he had no illusions about the darker side of combat. But the 31-year old was eager to do his duty to his country and to the United States Marine Corps.

But one incident would change almost everything this soldier believed in for the most of his life. It was the day he opened fire on an unarmed Iraqi woman. When he saw the white flag in hands of a dead woman that he'd mistaken for a suicide bomber, Rob began to question the war, and his role as one of its foot soldiers. And though he remained devoted to the Marine Corps, he never felt quite the same again about his presence in Iraq.

Rob returned home in June, 2003, and quit the military soon after. Still suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, his entry into civilian life was marked by alcoholism and later therapy. Rob finally made peace with his war experience by taking on the mantle of an anti-war activist – an unlikely vocation for someone who – as he told the students in Texas – had always seen protesters as hippies who had "no right to protest and just hated the military." He is now the co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War, the only anti-war organization comprised entirely of soldiers who served in Iraq.

Rob spoke to AlterNet about his road from soldier to activist from his apartment in Chicago.

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE, ALONG WITH OTHERS FROM THIS SERIES, BY GOING HERE:http://www.alternet.org/asoldierspeaks/