Lesson #1 - War Affects All

I raised my right hand and took the oath as a military officer in April of 2000. There was absolutely no way to know then where this journey would take me. In 11 years, I have learned a great deal. Some lessons will stay with me forever...

In 2004, I was a brand new doctor and Captain in the U.S. Air Force. After graduating from medical school, I was sent to Offutt Air Force Base(AFB) in Omaha, Nebraska for my first assignment. My mission was to become a board certified family physician. I was in training there for 3 years. The family medicine residency there at Offutt AFB is integrated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center It is an outstanding program. The training was rigorous.

So, there I was as a family medicine intern working on the maternity ward at Offutt AFB in November of 2004. One morning was particularly busy with 3 women in labor similtaneously. I was working with a patient named April. Her labor became complicated. We took her to the operating room for an urgent cesarean section. As we worked to get the baby out quickly, I remember vividly noticing that the father was not present. Instead, the grandmother to be was there providing support to April. There were tears of joy as I helped the obstetrician bring the infant into the world as his first breath was taken. At that moment, we seemed a million miles away from the front lines of Iraq.

Half a world away, "The Battle of Fallujah" was raging. U.S. Marines invaded the insurgent stronghold in Iraq. The bloodiest battle of The Iraq War ensued. It went on for weeks. There were heavy casualties. A young marine named Shane was one of the many killed in Fallujah. He hailed from Omaha.

The maternity ward at the Offutt AFB Hospital was quiet when 3 marines dressed in full service dress arrived in the middle of the night. April and her new baby boy were recovering from the events of the day. Nothing could prepare anyone for the news that the marines were there to deliver. I am sorry to say that the father of the child was killed in Fallujah, Iraq on the same day his son came into this world. The small hospital at Offutt AFB was now the center of a story that seemed too cruel to be true. The entire community was now aware that a young marine who grew up in Omaha had perished on the battlefield. His son would be raised without a father. It is a heart breaking story to say the very least.

I remember everyone commenting on how well April was coping. She must have been in a state of shock. The Omaha community reached out to her. A memorial service was held at a cathedral in town. I dusted off my dress blues and attended along with the obstetrician whom I assisted in delivering Shane Junior. Neither of us had ever met Shane Senior, but that did not seem to matter at all. Words cannot describe the sadness so many felt. It was a moving memorial service. The reality of what happened was now starting to sink in for everyone.
Certainly, many difficult days were endured and are still endured by the family.

My life in Omaha seemed so far away from the war to me before this tragic story enfolded. I was focused on learning medicine. Unfortunately, this tragedy gave me a glimpse of the horrors of war. We live our lives peacefully on most days. But, mankind chooses to wage war. And, in the end war affects all.