Married to the War: Divorce casualties

Jenbekman.com
Does anyone remember the story of Tyler and Renee Ziegel? He, the young Marine maimed and horribly disfigured in Iraq, she, the high school sweetheart who stood by his side and married him when he returned. It was one of those inspiring love stories that helped ease the pain of the war.

Well, they just got divorced.

In a nine page story by Ariel Leve in The Times Online, the writer travels to the small Midwestern town in Illinois to interview the friends and family members of the couple. It's easy for Renee to come across as the villainess in this tale, but in reality, it sounds like they succumbed to the normal pressures that young married couples face, except their issues were compounded by his continuing health problems and post traumatic stress syndrome. Sadly, there's not much of a lesson to be learned in this tragedy, except that to my mind, it simply reiterates the fact that soldiers and their families need access to all the best health care and counseling the government can certainly provide.

Oh yes, and I have another suggestion: Let's bring our troops home.

See also in the Married to the War series: "Love in the time of Iraq"; "Stop Loss"; "Interview with a marriage counselor"; and "Readers speak out"