My Story.
I was born in Puero Rico and moved to New York City when I was 10 years old in 1990. I still lived in NYC when 9-11 occurred. I witnessed the destruction and felt our country being attacked. I knew I needed to do something so I joined the service in October 2003. I was active for 5 years during which I did one tour in South Korea and two tours in Iraq.
I was deployed in 2004/05 to Camp Remadi West of Baghdad for 12 months and my 2nd deployment to Iraq was from 2006/07 to Fob Loyalty Central Baghdad for 15 months. During my first Iraqi deployment I was involved with the Fallujah invasion. My second tour involved patrolling the dangerous streets of Baghdad.
I have severe PTSD from all lives I saw being taken right in front of me and all of the attacks from rockets and motor rounds. Since I left the service I have not been the same person. I suffer from nightmares and relationship and social problems which have caused me to be a lonely person and a very unhappy man. In addition to my emotional issues, I was also exposed to a lot of fumes from trucks and now I suffer from asthma and other breathing problems along with knee problems. I have a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a meniscal tear. My knee has been operated on which had added to our family's financial stress. I have a 60% overall disability rating.
Name: SGT Joel Lugo
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