I recently attended another memorial last week in Liberty Chapel, 7th SFG, Eglin AFB, Florida. This time, I was not sitting in the first row with my Continue Reading
death
Wooden Sarcophagus
They lay in their wooden sarcophagus, the polished and the tattered, the clean and the dirty, the garrison and the combat. They represent a life Continue Reading
For Those Mourning Loss This Holiday Season
“It is not our job to remain whole. We came to lose our leaves like the trees, and be born again, drawing up from the great roots.” -- Continue Reading
Waiting for Dawn’s Dappled Light
Trust, they say yet my tears betray my moans remain or do they water the seeds of hope tiny specks mustard Continue Reading
I’ve Been That Poor, Tortured Soul
by Lou Marin Just last week, another of “my” Crew Chiefs, this one retired less than a month, left behind a wife and two young children before Continue Reading
Friends Lost in the Sandbox
by Vincent Johnson I am no special operator, ranger, or grunt of sorts. I never get why so many people I speak to about military service feel they Continue Reading
The Death Clock
Standing at a too young man's graveside.A cold North Dakota November windblew snow up my uniform pants leg. As the honor guard leader called"Ready, Continue Reading
I Want An Honest Funeral… And So Should You
I have stood for more funerals than I care to count. I have become a seasoned veteran. I have stood for family, friends, soldiers, veterans, Continue Reading
Humbled by the River
Editor’s Note: In my time as Editor-in-Chief of The Havok Journal, I’ve written only a few personal pieces. One of our writers, K.C. Aud, once said, Continue Reading
The First Time They Saw It All
The room sat with the palpable pain of the past. Every eye red and glossy. We sat as they called me "the rock"; "the untainted"; "the Continue Reading
An Arm’s Length Away
As the world came crashing down, those men did what they do best, they fought on. They fought to preserve that which others sought to take. They Continue Reading
The Mementos of a Warrior
It’s a cold, drizzly, Southern Oregon night, as I sit inside, perusing the old photo album. I flip through page after page of men clad in camouflage Continue Reading