Broken Soldier

Two nights ago, while I was out smoking a cigarette, a man in an SUV rolled by. He saw me, stopped, pointed at me and said, "You look familiar, are you a Marine?"

I walked over to him, and said "No, I am not a Marine, are you?"

We talked for a bit, he told me about being a Marine, being communications specialist in Kabul, and picking up something there the US government calls "agent yellow". He showed me the blisters on his fingers.

Now you can Wiki agent yellow and read all about it, but it is officially listed as a "fictional chemical weapon". It is also listed as being in the possession of the entities: "military, paramilitary, and terrorist organizations".

The man was disoriented, clearly tired, and hungry. I told him my wife and I have been having a hard time ourselves, but all I could offer him was a little food, some advil, a cigarette, and a place to sleep. He didn't trust me, or anyone, it appeared. It took forever to get him to trust me just that I only wanted to help him and not harm him. I told him about Homeward Bound, a local Dallas organization that helps soldiers returning home to readjust to society. He eventually let me go upstairs and retried a small piece of meat and a potato for him, and some Advil. He at first agreed to take me up on my offer to let him sleep in my room (he was clearly very, very tired), and got as far as my floor before saying he would be right back and disappearing.

He said his name was Kevin. I don't know who he was, but I do believe he was a broken soldier, and needed to eat and sleep. I did what I could for him. It was all he would accept before he disappeared for him. I will pray for him, and would ask you to do the same.

Maybe one day I will see him again. I hope he's okay. At this time I don't know.