by Daniel Clancy
Growing up with Rambo and GI Joe’s
I was part of the brainwashed youth
From cops and robbers to call of duty
Only left me searching for the truth
I guess maturing for me is understanding why Rambo wanted to die in Afghanistan
And why my brothers would rather die in Ukraine instead of living the life of a family man
#comehome
A U.S. Army soldier with the 101st Airborne Division returns fire with a M249 light machine gun during combat operations in the valley of Barawala Kalet, Kunar province, Afghanistan, on March 29, 2011. DoD photo by Pfc. Cameron Boyd, U.S. Army. (Public Domain/Released)
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In his upcoming book, The Rose That Grew From Sand, Daniel Clancy, a retired Marine Corps and Army infantryman with over 20 years of service, offers a raw and unflinching look at war. Through stark and visceral poetry, he captures the violence of the battlefield and the deeper battles soldiers face when they come home—grappling with PTSD, mental health struggles, and the difficult readjustment to civilian life.
As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.
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