AUGUST 8, 2023 – When you look into someone’s eyes, you might be able to get a glimpse of that person’s mood or personality. However, when you look into the eyes of a service member [or veteran], you might find yourself wondering what story those eyes could tell.
While most experience a wide range of challenges during their service such as deployments and family separation, some carry invisible scars that can be of a physical, mental, and/or emotional nature.
Military personnel can be deployed at any time to various regions around the world. During deployments, which can last anywhere from several months to several years, they can be engaged in many different types of missions varying from humanitarian aid missions to combat operations.
On Purple Heart Day, observed every year on August 7, we honor and remember the brave current and former service members who were wounded or killed in action while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. As the very first and oldest military medal, the Purple Heart was established by George Washington in 1782.
“I found out I’d be awarded the Purple Heart as I was laying in my hospital bed,” said Sergej Michaud, manager of the Central Processing Facility for the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz’s Department of Human Services – Military Personnel Division at Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Michaud served three tours in Iraq during his 9-year enlistment in the U.S. Army from 2003-2012.
On his second tour in Iraq (2006-2008), he was part of Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, out of the 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Bliss, Texas. Their combat outpost was set up in Ghazaliya, a neighborhood on the western outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq.
On Dec. 24, 2007, Michaud’s platoon was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) as they were driving through the streets of west Baghdad in a Humvee convoy. He was assigned as the rear gunner.
“As we’re driving through this market area – which is usually pretty busy – about six blocks away from where our camp was, I started seeing less and less people,” Michaud recalled. “I started getting nervous. I told my tank commander that I had a feeling we were going to get hit.”
Michaud stood up and warned the Humvee driver to scan the sector and be prepared. Not long after, he noticed someone holding a machine gun moving on the rooftop of the building next to them.
“The next thing I remember is waking up at the Baghdad international Airport Clinic bleeding outside of my ear with a ruptured temple, internal bleeding and bloodshot eyes,” said Michaud.
Michaud doesn’t recall how he was pulled out of the vehicle or what happened after they got hit as he was completely unconscious for some time.
“The Humvee was destroyed,” he said. “I stayed in the hospital recovering for a few weeks, but every time I tried to walk, I felt dizzy and had vertigo. It took me a while to get my balance back but I kept having migraines and blurred vision in my left eye.”
Being severely injured during his second tour in Iraq did not stop Michaud from going on a third tour a few years later, where he said things went much more smoothly.
“The most important thing I can recommend to our new generation of Soldiers is mental strength,” said Michaud. “Many tools for mental health are available, but you need to experience some hardship to be mentally strong – if things are always easy for you in life, you are never going to become mentally strong, you are always going to be dependent on other people.”
While Michaud acknowledges that stress could get to anyone, he said that it is important to never give up, and that the stronger you are mentally, the easier moving forward is going to be.
Especially in combat situations, mental health is fundamental to build and maintain cohesive teams. And while nobody is prepared for war, you learn it as you go, he said.
“War is not nice, in any way. You can’t afford to make horrible decisions – it’s not going to be good for you or your team. Physical, but mostly mental strength is a fundamental thing in war,” he added. “Your muscle mass and your stamina might decrease if you don’t do physical fitness, but that mental strength, that ‘not stopping,’ that ‘not breaking down’… is what really keeps you going.”
Observing Purple Heart Day helps raise awareness about the impacts of war on veterans and their families, highlighting the importance of providing them with the support and resources they need to lead a fulfilling life after their service.
There have been approximately 1.8 million Purple Hearts awarded since 1782. Each recipient is honored for their selfless service and bravery, but most of all, for their sacrifice in the name of our nation.
On this Purple Heart Day, and every day, the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz community pauses to say “Thank You” to our own Sergej Michaud, and all the brave men and women who have fought for our nation’s freedom and bear the scars of war.
By Linda Lambiotte
USAG Rheinland-Pfalz Public Affairs