In 2007, Army Specialist Joey Paulk, then 22 years old, was on his first deployment to Afghanistan when a bomb exploded, setting him ablaze and nearly killing him. Among the damage done to him was the destruction of his face, the loss of his fingers and psychological impact of which no-one can measure. Joey has endured over 30 surgeries with more to come.
But thanks to a philanthropist Ronald Katz, and the UCLA Medical Center, in addition to the caring and dedicated military medical teams that saved his life and began the restoration process, Joey is on his way to a quality life and hopefully to a fine future.
It is easy to condemn war and point out that Joey is one of numerous horror stories that have resulted from the U.S.'s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but that's not the purpose of this piece. Instead it is one of hope. Hope for Joey, hope for his family, hope for the numerous other war victims and their families and hope that the U.S. and other nations will finally grow wise enough to prevent wars, not fight them. To learn more about Joey, please see "For Soldier Disfigured in War, a Way to Return to the World," New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/us/for-soldier-disfigured-in-afghanistan-a-way-to-return-to-the-world.html?pagewanted=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2
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