I had the good fortune and opportunity to come home and to tell the truth; many soldiers, like Pat Tillman… did not have that opportunity. The truth of war is not always easy. The truth is always more heroic than the hype.

I don't come from a rich family - it's not like we lived in a cardboard box, but we didn't have a ton of money.

Honesty has always been very important to me.

I remember the first time I put on the Army uniform. I just felt like a totally different person - I felt proud.

I had the good fortune and opportunity to come home and to tell the truth; many soldiers, like Pat Tillman… did not have that opportunity. The truth of war is not always easy. The truth is always more heroic than the hype.

Certain days I think definitely because we went in there and we got Saddam and that was our mission. On other days, we lost so many lives and so many brothers and sisters...on that aspect, no.

The nurses at the hospital tried to soothe me, and they even tried unsuccessfully at one point to return me to Americans.