Today’s Urban Valor story brings us Marine Corps veteran Corporal PaulÂ
Parkhurst in this veteran interview. Â
Paul takes us through his life before joining the Marines, while inÂ
the Marines, and the struggle of transitioning out of the military afterÂ
witnessing traumatic experiences.Â
Paul recalls a war story where he was shipped off to Kuwait in 2003 inÂ
preparation for the Invasion of Iraq, just 2 months after joining his fleet.Â
As part of Task Force Tarawa, Paul battled the mental strain of sleep exhaustion and stressors of war intensified by the reminders of the price of battle as his convoy drove pastÂ
dead bodies along the roads.Â
He shares with us the psychological effects of leaving for a secondÂ
deployment immediately following the first and highlighting the impact ofÂ
being subjected to horrific circumstances. Paul's war story also reminds the audienceÂ
that leaving the service — which for him happened 9 days after returningÂ
home from Afghanistan — does not mean leaving the stress and anxietyÂ
behind.Â
Paul courageously speaks about the consequences of war and the necessityÂ
of seeking assistance regarding mental health, which could manifest intoÂ
physical ailments.Â
To those watching, this episode will be a reminder of the impact war has onÂ
combat veterans while in combat and even more so after coming home fromÂ
combat.Â
About Urban Valor:
Welcome to Urban Valor, where we hear the stories of our veteran heroes inÂ
their own words. Within these vet interviews, you'll hear everything fromÂ
combat stories, life stories pre/post military, military transition, andÂ
everything in between. Â
Our interviews aren't just war interviews or combat veteran interviews, butÂ
interviews from any military veteran willing to share. Our hope is to educateÂ
the masses with what our military veterans went through while serving theirÂ
country and how life has been since their military transition back to civilianÂ
life.Â