In Marine Cpl. Matthew D. Wojtecki's book, he wrote these thoughts...

[thedrifter]

In Marine Cpl. Matthew D. Wojtecki's book, he wrote these thoughts...

In Marine Cpl. Matthew D. Wojtecki's book, he wrote these thoughts after seven Marines were killed during Operation Matador in May 2005.

``I missed everything about my life and desperately wanted to get the hell out of this God-awful place. I kept thinking of how this war would affect me long after I was home. I would give anything to return the same as I was. People would like me and laugh with me again. I tried to cry before I fell asleep, but all I could feel was emptiness and how I was alone here. I stared at the open sky and the stars while I said a short prayer to God.''

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Posted on Mon, Jul. 02, 2007

Memories fill vet's Iraq book
Notes taken in conflict reflect pain felt in war
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer

Marine Cpl. Matthew D. Wojtecki scribbled in notebooks what he witnessed at war in Iraq two years ago.

This spring, the 24-year-old Crestwood High School and Kent State University graduate's self-published book, Every Other Four: The Journal of Cpl. Matthew D. Wojtecki, Weapons Company 3rd Battalion 25h Marines, Mobile Assault Team Eight, was released by AuthorHouse.

Forty-eight Marines and sailors who served with Wojtecki during his deployment to Iraq have been killed.

Q:
What does Every Other Four mean?

A:
One of my team leaders told a story about how military were shipped off to Vietnam. According to his uncle they would line everyone up and everyone would take a number -- one through four -- and the fourth person was a Marine.

Q:
When did you join the Marines?

A:
When I was 17, my parents signed a waiver that said it was OK for me to enlist. I took the oath when I was 17.

Q:
What did you do after boot camp?

A:
I went to Kent State. The following summer, I did infantry training in North Carolina.

Q:
Were you writing every day while you were in Iraq?

A:
Every day I was writing in my journal. That is where the material comes from. My big stack of journals.

Q:
Did you write it all out long hand?

A:
Long hand. I filled three of them up. When I got home I started typing it. It took me 10 months to a year to type everything.... Normally, after every day, I made a habit of writing what happened that day.

Q:
Did you know before you left that you wanted to write a book?

A:
Going into it I had an idea.

Q:
When you went back over your notes when you got home, was it pretty emotional to re-read everything?

A:
Yes. It was pretty therapeutic. A lot of people talk to others and go to therapists. Writing is a good way to do that. To think back. Every time you think about it over and over again it is less painful.

Q:
What did you do over there?

A:
We were part of a mobile assault platoon. We were in Humvees and we would drive around and patrol the areas.

Q:
What was it like to have multiple bad days when many men died at a time?

A:
It was really tough. Going back to the barracks and having to clean out someone else's gear was pretty hard.

Q:
Did you have to do that?

A:
Yes.

Q:
How are you doing now that you are home?

A:
Every once in a while, I do have to remember what happened. You go on with your daily life and sometimes you will forget about it and things will happen that will remind you of it and it's really painful when it comes up.

Q:
Have you gotten any counselling?

A:
The VA (Veterans Affairs) in Brecksville was pretty helpful.

Q:
Do you think you had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

A:
I think when I first got back I did. I was able to get help.

Q:
Are you different after being in Iraq?

A:
Yes, I think I am. My appreciation for life is greater than when I left. Waking up every day and not hearing explosions.... Living in Akron really makes me happy to live somewhere

Ellie

[cplwojo]

Ellie,

Thank You for posting this article on Leatherneck.com. I hope you had a chance to read my book. I am glad that other fellow Marines can read what I actually felt when I was in Iraq and how painful it sometimes got when that day seven Marines died in an amtrac explosion when they bravely battled against cowardly insurgants that plant IEDs on roadways and impend the progress of freedom. The greatest feeling I got was when I stepped off that plane at the Chicago airport and looked around--something felt different--; I was in America and was glad to be there. It was like I sacrificed so much for this country and it meant so much more to me now that I had done it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/1425954006/sr=8-1/qid=1194045848/ref=dp_image_0/102-8816788-6812931?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1194045848&sr=8-1



Semper Fi.

Cpl. Matthew Wojtecki
a/k/a "Wojo"
Wpns. Co. 3/25
Akron, OH.

[thedrifter]

Your Welcome!

Didn't get a chance to read the book yet, these Marines keep me busy..;) but I figured someone will fill me in after they read it....

I hope!!!

Thank You for Your Service!

God Bless,
Ellie