Healing Combat Trauma

"Marlboro Marine" Gets Honored

An article in today's Lexington, KY Herald-Leader talks about a national honor recently given to Blake Miller, the so-called "Marlboro Marine" whose grim, grimy but cool photograph was widely-circulated around the world.  (The National Mental Health Association presented him with their "Forwards" award at a recent meeting in Alexandria, VA.)  Miller has had PTSD issues since returning from Fallujah in 2004, potentially exacerbated by working at the Hurricane Katrina disaster site after returning, and he has spoken out freely about mental health challenges of combat veterans.  In other words, he's a guy who's put his unasked for celebrity status to good use, on behalf of other vets.  He was recently honored for just such efforts.  The article, while short, conludes with a great quote praising Miller for his work.  We'll recap it here because it's exactly the sort of praise we ought to be giving veterans like Miller for their efforts.

"Blake Miller represents the very best our country has to offer," Dr. David Stern, president and chief executive of the National Mental Health Association, said in a statement. "Not only has he served the United States proudly, but he has become an outspoken advocate on behalf of all Americans and military personnel facing and living with mental health problems."

"Marine of the Year" Takes His Case to Trial

The Boston Globe reports today that Dan Cotnoir, the highly-decorated "Marine of the Year" in 2005, who fired warning shots into his urban neighborhood and injured some late-night revelers in Lawrence, Mass., has elected to take his case to trial.  Earlier reports suggested that he was willing to plead guilty, but apparently today he changed his plea.  No idea what legal strategy he is falling, and there's no guarantee this strategy will work out; but it's understandable from the circumstances and a look at what Cotnoir endured in Iraq, why post-traumatic stress disorder is an issue in this trial.  Our thoughts are with Cotnoir, his family and his victims, and we promise to follow this trial carefully because it may be precedent-setting in cases concerning PTSD from the current war in Iraq.