David Botti
|
Oct 18, 2007 10:45 AM
Earlier in the week I interviewed Erica,
the wife of Jim, a fellow Marine from my old unit. I asked about her
experiences being in a relationship with Jim while he was deployed to
Iraq in 2003. Today we have my interview with Jim. Among the things he
talks about is leaving her a knife to keep at home, family drama, and a
surge of anger while eating at a diner.
S.H.: You became engaged shortly before deploying to Iraq. How did the deployment influence your decision?
Jim:
It definitely pushed up the time frame. I had purchased the ring, but
was waiting for the right time to give it to her. When I heard that we
were getting deployed, it seemed like the right time.
S.H.: In the days leading up to your deployment, what types of conversations were you having about your relationship?
Jim:
I recall not really wanting to talk about it. I was willing to go, but
didn't want to deal with the goodbyes. So, I pretty much pretended like
it was known to be an absolute certainty that everything would be
alright. She would say something to me, and I would brush it off with a
simple "everything will be fine."
S.H.: How did being in a relationship back home influence your morale during the deployment?
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