My Marriage And A Roadside Bomb

Photo by Melissa Washin flickr.com/photos/mwashin/.

With a hug and a kiss we said goodbye yet again as he went back to Iraq to finish his tour. Neither of us knowing that in only two weeks our lives would be turned upside down.

By Citizen Correspondent Josie Salzman

Date Posted: 08/23/07

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My husband was enlisted in the military. Last December, my husband lost his arm in a roadside bomb in Iraq. In the next few weeks I'm hoping to find time to talk about the emotional stress of the last eight months. I'm really looking to start from the beginning of the ordeal and work my way through to try to give people an understanding of everything we have been through. I've been putting this off for a long time now trying to avoid reliving some pretty painful stuff. This story was originally published April 18, 2007 in my blog, Life In A Cracker Box.

My name is Josie and I live in a cracker box. More accurately I live in a large house with ten other families. There is no privacy, no quiet and no room. We are all living on post at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. We each have a different story to tell. A different background. A different outlook on life. We are wives, mothers, soldiers, patients, daughters and sons. We are your neighbors and your friends. Though we may have our differences, we are all united by one common trait... we are all a result of the war in Iraq.

In October of 2005 my fiance deployed with the Minnesota National Guard. After spending six months in Camp Shelby, Mississippi his unit was ready to head to Iraq. On March 10th, 2006 we were married in New Orleans.

After only spending one week as a married couple he was sent to Iraq. Eight months passed. November of 2006 finally came, and I was able to see my new husband for two whole weeks of R&R. With a hug and a kiss we said goodbye yet again as he went back to Iraq to finish his tour. Neither of us knowing that in only two weeks our lives would be turned upside down.

On December 19th , 2006 J.R. was injured by a roadside bomb. More specifically an EFP (explosive formed projectile). He lost his right arm below the elbow, his left ring finger, and has lost a lot of function in his left hand due to severe nerve damage. After being medevacked to the green zone he was patched up just enough to stop the bleeding and prevent infection. J.R. was then taken to Germany where he spent a few days.