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I can’t remember the exact event of my brother announcing that he was joining the Military. In fact, there’s many things about my brother and his Military career that I can’t remember. I know that he left for boot camp when I was around eight years old. I can still recall stories after stories of the things that happened to him. Such as being forced to watch his commanders eat a giant box filled with candy that was sent to him. Not to mention all the letters he sent, and how my mom would always take the time to read them out loud to my family. After finishing boot camp, my brother stayed with my family for a while before being deported to Iraq. Around a year passed with him being overseas. My family videochated with him once and a while, sent letters and gifts, and were pretty connected overall. Things went like that for a while, and my family still wasn’t informed by my brother when we could see him again. Eventually, Thanksgiving came around with my oldest brother absent again. However, a surprise visit from him after dinner quickly changed that. Greetings and congratulations were given, and eventually everything settled down again. This was when my brother started showing my family the photos and video’s he had brought back from his time in Iraq. The first photos he showed us were simple. Mainly just pictures of his combat gear and scenery of where he stayed while in Iraq. Such as utility vehicles and a LOT of sand.. Eventually photos of giant war weapons, some held and some not, were seen. I still remember being creeped out by most of them. Young men smiling timidly at the camera soon followed afterwards. While looking at them, my brother pointed out each and every person in there and talked about them a little bit. Once out of pictures to show us, my brother pulled up video’s he had taken himself. It’s hard to explain exactly what was going on in the video’s. Loud gunshots and swift camera movements made the entire thing hard to see. That was the first time I actually ever saw a war scene. And my brother was right in the middle of it. I had seen war scenes in movies, and read about it in the newspaper, but this time it was different. It was loud, messy, and confusing. Nothing at all like what I expected. After seeing the photos and video’s, I found myself to be more empathetic. Nothing about my brother going into the Military and being deported ever really set in until that moment. All-in-all, I’m very glad my brother showed my family what he brought back from Iraq. As of now, he’s gone back to the Middle East three more times, and has returned basically unharmed. However, I am positive that I will never forget how he changed my viewpoint on war.
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