To All Families of Wounded Soldiers: My name is Julia and this is the story of what happened to my son:

CPL Nicholas F. Clark, (USA RET) He is 29 years old

Nick served in 173rd ABCT and after 2 graduations @ Fort Benning, Georgia, he was sent to Europe for further training.

Considered a Soldier of Fortune and Awarded the Purple Heart, my son is now living in a garage in Seattle after 2 women used him for his 'loss of limb money'. One of the young ladies is still in the United States Army and showed up for an 'Injured Soldier Run' @ the Intrepid Center in 2008. As soon as he met her, I went into her 'my space blog' and did not exactly like what I was reading but he seemed very certain that this young woman was head over heels in love with him and they became engaged. Sadly, it was not the case and after he spent bucko-bucks on her (diamond rings, trips, helping her buy a house (plus furniture) ... she dropped him like a hot rock. After she got 'her house' she told him she needed 'time' to think about 'things'. I was hoping he would get back all he bought her, including the furniture and $7,000.00 rings, but I'm not sure of the entire story so you would have to ask him. All I can say to those who have injured soldiers coming back is 'STAY CLOSE TO YOUR WOUNDED SOLDIER', and protect them from those who are out looking for thier 'fortune from an injured soldier'! It is my hope that Nick's story will help other wounded soldiers from being used and/or robbed!

June 2nd, 2007: I got the call from my son Nick saying, "Mom, don't freak out ... but I'm in the hospital in Afghanistan". He then handed the phone to a nurse who told me Nick could not hear me because of the 'blast'. As I tried to process the word "blast" ... reality set in and I fell to the floor. I asked the nurse how bad he was injured and also if anyone else was injured. She told me that my son's good buddy (Lowell from Chicago) had been killed but Nick did not yet know. The following morning, I received a call from the Army who asked if I had a passport as they were possibly going to fly me to bedside in Germany. Once they told me that, I knew he was severely injured. It was his lower left leg .... that was pretty much all they could tell me at that point. The Army was very good at keeping me posted and within 2 days, I was on a plane to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in WA DC where I was greeted by 2 Red Beret Soldiers who picked me up at the airport. I do not remember much about the ride through DC and once we arrived at WRAMC, I was taken to the Soldier Family Assistance Center -aka- SFAC. I kept hoping I would I wake up and discover it was just a very bad nightmare but once I finally arrived to his room and saw my son laying there, I could hardly breathe. He did not look good at all but he was alive which I said 'Thank you God"! The days that followed were very stressful and I do not remember alot and did not even notice he was in the Neuro-Sceince Unit until about the 4th day. Not only was his left leg destroyed, he also had been hit in the back of the head with shrapnel as well as shrapnel on his right shoulder and right leg, below the knee. They of course had him on very heavy meds but everytime he woke up, he would look at his leg to make sure it was still there and told me. "Mother, whatever anyone says to you, do not let them cut my leg off! Promise me mom, promise me!" I was not allowed to see his x-rays because of the privacy act so there was no way I was going to sign anything to give them the 'go ahead' to have his leg amputated. After 2 weeks of clean out surgeries, the doctors finally agreed to send him back to WA State (where we are from) as Nick wanted to be seen by different doctors in hopes his leg could be repaired with a cadaver. After being seen by doctors in WA State, he finally made the decision to go ahead with the amputation.

After his ampuatation in WA State, his former girlfriend showed up and somehow got ahold of his credit card, which she used to her advantage. Nick finally became aware of it and cancelled the card.

Once back in WA State, he made the decision so fast about moving forward with the amputation that I was unable to get a ticket. I also spoke to his counselor on the phone who said it would be better to wait as he would be transferred to the Intrepid Center in Texas 2 weeks later and the Army would help move me there. Once he arrived at the Intrepid Center, he was turned over to a different counselor/case worker who informed me that my son would have to make the arrangements to move me to Texas. I knew he was in no condition to make any decision and certainly not coherent enough to make any arrangement to have the military move me, so it never happened. I did not have the money to even go visit him and have not even seen him since his amputation. I can anyone who has an injured soldier coming back this: nothing can really prepare you for what you will face. After 2 weeks at WRAMC, I know I was left with PTSD after seeing all the injured soldiers. No arms, no legs ... some burnt beyond recognition. No matter how strong you think you may be, nothing can prepare you for what you will see. The one thing I can offer that did help me was to pray. Just pray. You will still go through the pain, but just make sure you stay close to your soldier!

Thanksgiving that same year, his old girlfriend from Seattle showed up in Texas and they went out to dinner in San Antonio. Nick had just received his prosthetic and as they were waiting for a taxi outside a restaurant, 2 police officers on bicycles rode up to them and asked Nick if he was drunk. Apparantly, he was very unsteady on his new leg so thjey assumed he was drunk. They made him take off his new prosthetic and get down on the ground on his knees and in the meantime, his ex-girlfriend began yelling at the police and they took her to the ground. My son Nick jumped up to defend her and they brought out thier billy clubs, causing even more injury to his already wounded body. I was not there so I do not know the entire story but I can assure you that my son would never have hit an officer of the law unless he was defending someone or fully provoked. My son's great-grandfather was a police officer for many years in WA State and we come from a long line of military. Nick later went to court and is now on probation because of his actions but I often wonder what either of the 2 police officers would have done had they been in Nicks situation. Would they have defended thier girlfriends?
An Army Of One
Nicholas Freeland Clark (age 25) Sand Hill, Fort Benning 2006
The day he announced, "I'm leaving soon mom",
I felt like my soul had been hit with a bomb!

"They need brave people who are willing to serve",
I knew he was right...
He was born with great nerve.

My heart filled with fear,
Which soon turned to pride,
The best thing now is to stand by his side.

The day that he left for An Army of One,
The burning tears were for pride in my son.

Daily I pray, for his courage and strength
To endure the tough training ... beyond expertise.

I thank the Drill Sargeants for training my son,
to become a PROUD MAN in AN ARMY OF ONE.
Copyright ©2006 Julia K. Eie



I wrote the above poem while my son Nick was going through ITB Training @ Fort Benning in Georgia. After graduation from ITB, he then went to Airborne School in preparation for going to Iraq with the 173rd ABCT. His Unit was sent to Afghanistan instead, where they were hit by RPGS.

I cannot tell you how important it is to stick close to your wounded soldier when they come back!

Thank you for your posting. It is always great to see what is being said here.

I'm so sorry to hear of your son's situation.
People who take advantage of any disabled person belong in hell.

Those who take advantage of a disabled military man or woman should have a special place in hell reserved for them!

Them two cops pisz me of worse in that story.
Tell your son "Thanks for his service, and Welcome home."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: YankeeeSgt,

quote:

Originally posted by 23130731:
My name is Julia and this is the story of what happened to my son:

CPL Nicholas F. Clark, (USA RET) He is 29 years old

Dear Julia,
I read this the day that you posted it. It is so heartbreaking that I couldn't find the words to respond. Only tears...

Nick is the same age as my only child/son (man) and he is currently deployed in the middle east hell hole.

From reading your words ~ I can feel your sorrow and your pain. The kind of pain that a mother feels when her child is suffering. You and Nick are in my prayers. God Bless...

I feel the pain in your words and it's very sad that there are women/and men out there who take advantage of Disable Veterans.

Tell Nick that I said Welcome Home and Thanks For His Service... and It's really sad that he was treated that way by those two police officer I know they have to go up against dangerous people but once they realized he was disabled they should of never hit him with billy clubs..

I understand you weren't there and you didn't know the whole story and neither do I but still those officer should be ashamed of there self.. That was a very heartbreaking story.



"GOD BLESS" A Disable Vietnam Vet

Everything we do in our lives - good or bad will sooner or later come back to us. Praying for your son!