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Subscribe to RSSPfc. Kevin Macari used his MySpace blog to keep track of what he was seeing and feeling while serving in the Army. Below are some excerpts:
Louie Palu / Alexia Foundation via Zuma Press
Pfc. Kevin Macari, who lost his leg to a landmine explosion in the Arghandab District of Kandahar, Afghanistan, looks at a photo of his fiancée while being evacuated in a U.S. Army medevac helicopter, Sept. 28, 2010. Macari asked photojournalist Louie Palu to hold his hand during the helicopter ride. “It was a hard day,” said Palu.
On June 25, 2010, Kevin Macari wrote:
“I can’t get the blood out from under my fingernails. I’m sick of breathing in dirt, and I miss my fiancee….”
On Aug. 5, 2010, Kevin Macari wrote:
“I’m honestly so sick of doing some of the ______— _— ___— I’ve had to do and see that I just wanna come home and live the rest of my l..."
On Oct 7, 2010, Kevin Macari wrote:
"Hey jessica. I'm back home now, but not for anything good. I got my left leg blown off in Afghan. I'm okay but just figured id drop you a line..."
Macari was injured while serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He lost his spleen and his leg below the knee in the initial landmine injury. His father, Thomas Macari Jr., says Kevin is recovering in the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
“He has been fighting an infection by his knee which he was told if it reaches the bone they would have to take his leg above the knee. That thought was devastating to him. The good news is that the infection is getting better,” said Thomas.
His father says Kevin’s spirits are on an emotional rollercoaster ride. “Some days he is his old self, happy, joking and laughing. Other days he is withdrawn, and he doesn’t want to talk.”
Thomas says, “Kevin is not sure what his future will bring as to staying in the Army, but that decision is well down the road. Right now his job in the Army is recovery.”
Kevin misses the guys in his unit who are still in Afghanistan, but he is able to keep in touch by using the Internet, says Thomas.
In September, The Atlantic published a slideshow of photographer Louie Palu's coverage of IEDs in Afghanistan. You can see it here.
Leave a Comment:
God Bless you Kevin I hope you get well soon, Thank you for serving.
This is the entire article? a few blog posts, a quote and a picture?
@compassion... click on the 'his MySpace blog' link at the top, to see more of the private's posts on MySpace...
Hey, the guy got his leg blown off. What do you want, the gory details? Go to his myspace blog if you need more. It's not intended to be a book, it's an article.
No... but maybe the author could elaborate a little bit more...
Like what this guys motivation for staying in the army is? No, it's not a book, it's an article that's supposed to be reporting something. Tell me more!
Thanks to Kevin for his service, staying in the army after such an event is truly above and beyond.
i am sorry to see Pfc. Macari injured, as i am sorry to see any soldier hurt or killed by this war. my husband was in the first gulf war, and we had no means of communication except letters or expensive phone calls. we rarely talked, and i did not even know my husband was injured until he was already in germany. it is nice that the soldiers have computers,etc. now. i wish all soldiers to return home soon, safe and sound.
God Bless you Kevin. Thank you for your sacrifice.
None of these young people should have been sent to Afghanistan.
This young man is lucky to be alive and to have the chance o return home to his fiancee at all.
Get them all out NOW!
Cleareye, how about providing some substance instead of just spouting off? Do tell us WHY you think they should not be there. You do know that they are under orders of our Commander In Chief and were ordered there by our US government legally and with the backing of the majority of the rest of the world, right? You want to bring al-Qaeda and the Taliban here to fight them? You do realize that if Pakistan destabilizes, they have the least secured nuclear weapons in the world there? No who else is there? Osama bin Laden and his remaining cronies.
Maybe you should change your handle to Redeye....You sound like a misinformed stoner.
Thanks, for your service Kevin.
11B
We are honored to have you protecting us. May you find strength in your recovery, know that millions think you are a true hero.
Not easy. Let him know he's not the first and won't be the last with such an injury. Let him know too that his brain
is intact as well as his heart and soul!! Everything else is just chump change in life. You either have both legs, one
leg or no legs....he's one of the more fortunate ones, he'll have one leg, rather one and a half legs and eventually
a special leg so he can stand like a man at the urinal!! Nice huh? Good luck and God's speed in healing!
God Bless these young men and women who choose to serve our country. Simply put they define what the word "Hero" is meant to express.
I feel for ya soldier, but stay steady man. I to was wounded in Sadr City in Iraq you are part of God's plan my friend and you need your faith and intestinal fortitude as well as to talk about this more than anything or it will destroy you. I spent two years in a bottle everyday thinking it would numb the pain of the memories of desert storm/shield and OIF. I was a fool. Don't be me PFC, tighten up you laces and soldier on!!
SSG Craig M Martin
United States Army (Ret)
SSG Martin,
What good advice, I hope that PFC Macari see's it. Thank you both for your sacrifice. I was also in the Army, and we did what we had to do.
God Bless
Great advise Mr. Martin- REAL talk. Thank you PFC Marcari and all that you and our soldiers sacrifice on a daily basis. Life hasn't ended for you, but just begun. Keep your head and your spirit regardless of the pain and bloodshed. Nothing can break you but your own mind. Heal physically and seek outside yourself to heal the mental and spiritual side. Let the past be the past- And commit to yourself and your loved ones to make every day count and a continuous journey to be a better and stronger man.. Like SSG Craig martin said, "Soldier on!!"- We should all grateful for men and women like yourself.
SSG Craig Martin, That was very beautifully said. Thank you sir for your service and sacrifice!! I am the Daughter, Sister, Ex Wife (still friends), Girlfriend and best friend to the Military. I was born and raised under your umbrella! and It has been an honor!
Best wishes to you and to all Soldiers! We should all be so blessed to have one in our lives!!
SSG Martin: Your comment made me cry. I am in the Army and have been in Iraq, I was lucky to not get severely injured just a concustion from an IED blast. But saw alot of my friends killed or injured and still try to live and soldier on. I don't go to a bottle though however it is tempting to start. I thank you for your service and your words of Wisdom for this PFC I'm sure he and many other wounded service members are in need of that advice.
PFC Marcari, there are many more like you, seek and look in comfort from those who have suffered as you have, reach out and don't lock your feelings away, you need to talk express yourself, even if at times you find it hard. All of your brothers and sisters in uniform are there for you, no matter what mood or how bad you are feeling, we are there just like your parents and family. As a Mom, Wife and soldier express your pain, yell scream do whatever you have to but get it out there, when it is all out on the table no one can take the pain you have away but to express it will make it seem a little easier to live with. WE Support you and love you for your sacrafices you have made.
SGT Jackson, US Army going strong.
God bless you Kevin, and thank you for your sacrifice.
what is even sadder though is the fact that Kevin and his family/loved ones have to endure any of this at all. We continue to dump both blood and money down the drain, and for what? So we can continue filling our gas tanks?
Bring these troops home NOW and stop tearing more families up for nothing.
Get well soon Kevin. As retired navy man this story has brought tears to my eyes. I know that's not what you're looking to hear. My admiration for you can not be expressed through words but know that I am very grateful to you for your service. I will pray for you're recovery and that you can return home as soon as possible to live the rest of your life in pease and find true happiness.
God bless you for the sacrifice you have made. I am pround of you and will pray for your speedy recovery. I can't imagine how you have suffered. Please know there are thousands of us out here routing for you and consider you our hero!
God Bless you and keep you safe in HIS love and gain strength thru all those who pray for you and those who have travelled your very same road before you. Kevin, you shall over come, you shall heal and you shall soldier on-you are a strong , brave man and many people love you......Your future is bright, your mind is strong, let faith heal you and turn your life into a great dream come true. Educate yourself and look to the future of happiness and many opportunities left undiscovered for you, are a TRUE HERO......................... your friend........ a Marine Mom-Kathryn
Thank you all for your service. For the people who wish to pull out: vote to raice gas to include $5.00/gal tax. This will stop our money from funding these terrorists that we are fighting!
No war fought in a politically correct manner can be won. That is why the British lost the Revolutionary War and that is why the U.S. has been unable to win any war since WWII. An army must be absolutely brutal to win a war. All existing social structure must be eliminated and the enemy obliterated. Letting Karzai run the show is a sure way to lose. This is the same modus operandi the U.S. employed in Vietnam: support a thoroughly corrupt local leader and hope for the best. The best isn't going to happen. I was the program attorney for Stinger missile at General Dynamics when we were sending scores of Stinger missiles to the Mujahedin in Afghanistan so that they could defeat air power of the USSR. In hindsight, it was a MAJOR mistake. The Russians were far less politically correct and knew how to fight a war. It was the U.S., not the Afghans, who made winning impossible for the Russians.
You cannot win COIN warfare through the use of total warfare, thats why we lost Vietnam, and thats why Russia lost in Afghanistan.
The world if filled with Ordeals for everyone, I am sorry your ordeal has claimed a portion of your body, I pray that you are able to prevent it from claiming a portion of your soul.
It is a strange thing, how someone I knew back in grad school lost his eyesight because of a brain tumor, and had so much regret and anger that he hadn't joined the military before going to college so that he could experience that (he was planning to become an officer after college). He was really successful later in life as a lawyer. I traded emails with him over Facebook and says he is probably happier now than he would ever have been with his eyesight. I can't imagine.
I not only feel sorry for this young man but for all the young men and women serving our country. What I don't understand is the reason for this war. What I do know is that except for WWII every other war has been waged in the interest of special interest groups or group, and that having our sons and daughters return in a body bag or maimed because of the secret agenda of these groups is despicable.
What will happen after he is let out of rehab? Will the government help himor forget him like it has forgotten others. God have mercy on this young man for he will need all the help he can get after he has been forgotten and forsaken.
Thank you Young man for your Service and your Sacrifice. I pray for you and your family. Stay Strong! Keep Journaling your thoughts. it will help with your recovery!
Again THANK YOU from Me and My entire family.
Kevin, Craig, All my military Brothers & Sisters and their families,
1st - I am sorry you were injured, I wish you a very successful recovery and rehab. 2nd - It will not be easy - you cannot do it alone BUT there are alot of people who will want to help you - take it! 3rd - THANK YOU! for your decision to serve - you are a hero for doing so. 4th - Family & Friends be open, honest and upfront with him - he is and he is not the same guy before his injury - help him get back what he can, deal with what he can't and come to terms with his new reality. HOW? Be there, get help for you & him and love him unconditionally even when he can't or won't for himself or you.
Lastly, it is OK to hate war - those who have to fight it hate it more - but never, ever again hate the warrior - they go in harm's way to protect our freedom, our way of life. Heroes all...
Nighthawk Delta - What are YOU going to do to make sure that he is not forgotten? ...Of the People, by the People, for the People - YOU ARE the government - DO something - write/email your elected representatives tell them not to forget Kevin and his fellow vets, especially the wounded warriors.
I have a son that just got back from Afghanistan and now he is off again. Any young man or young woman be safe and god bless you all for your duty. Once again we have to go to far off places, to places we can even spell. Pfc Kevin Macari's life will be very different now, as well as all others before him and after. Wars are won by some measure of victory. There is no victory for those who lose their mind, body and soul. When will this war stop? Can anyone measure the time when this war be over once and for all.
War is a strange thing. Though on the scale of wars fought in the past what has gone on in Iraq and Afghanistan barely qualify as "war", exercising our military does benefit our society with veterans. Yes, there are individuals, families, and communities who suffer greatly but as a culture we must be careful not to slander the greater good of having members of our society with first hand military experience to maintain a healthy perspective and capability in the *very* unfortunate circumstance that we get pulled into a "real" war (think millions of casualties, like if we became fully engaged with North Korea & China) That is not to say I think the dollar values involved have been appropriate, or the use of contractor services has been a good idea.
Yes some people can not accept that the individual is less important than country. It has always been so, and I totally understand that somebody else sacrificing for our country can be far preferable than people we know. Try to be brave, do not give in to hopeless or despair, and that all the men and women who comprise our armed forces, and serve with honor and distinction, do so not necessarily for benefit of concrete things you can point to, but for sustaining an unfortunate but very vital aspect of a country to survive in the world today.