By Sakshi Agarwal
This article is part one of a series focusing on the physical impact of war and conflict on soldiers.
“I was pretty sure I was going to die….First you feel the round hit. It feels like a sledgehammer hitting you in the back, my stomach felt like the worst incontinence imaginable. Then you paradoxically try to resume your task in the fight, until you realize your own bodily dysfunction. I started flailing and screaming as horribly as you could possibly imagine…Then a warmth pours over you, seeps through your body armor, pools down at your legs, and you can’t even see it, because the one time you attempted to roll and have a gander is the first time you blacked out.” — US Marine Lance Cpl. Matt McElhinney [1]
To read more articles on this topic go to http://nonviolenceny.org/nonviolent-journal.