Like many people in Uganda, Charles Watmon has difficulty living with the things he saw and did as a soldier. An unexpected friend now helps him shoulder the burden. That friend’s name is Ogen Rwot and she is a cute, friendly, caramel-colored dog. For a decade, Watmon fought on both sides of Uganda’s civil wars, first for the Lord’s Resistance Army, then for the Ugandan government. The experience was traumatic. To make matters worse, he learned that he was HIV positive toward the end of his time in the military, and soon lost his wife and his two children to AIDS. After the war ended, he suffered flashbacks and panic attacks. He even thought about suicide.
Waiting For The War To End
The people of Vietnam suffered through war from 1955 to 1975, but for one man, the war took much longer to end. Ho Van Thanh was a soldier for more than 15 years. One terrible day, a mine exploded and killed his wife and two of his sons and completely destroyed his home. In a panic, Thanh grabbed his two-year-old son, Ho Van Lang, and fled deep into the jungle where he planned to live until the war ended. Just two years later, the war did end, but Ho and his son had no way of hearing the news. The two of them ended up living in the jungle for more than forty years, believing that the war was still raging on.
Happy Warrior
Private Wojtek is hailed as a war hero in Poland, but the renowned soldier was neither Polish nor human. Wojtek was a brown bear who was dealt a poor hand as a cub. After hunters killed his mother, Wojtek wandered the world alone until he was found and adopted by a young boy.
Meet Sergeant Stubby: A Most Peculiar War Hero
Millions of Americans admired Sergeant Stubby. His courage under fire was legendary. He was a decorated hero of World War I. He also had four legs and barked a lot. You guessed it – Sergeant Stubby was a dog. The short brindle bull terrier mutt was the first dog ever given rank in the U.S. Army. His story is the stuff movies are made of.
Memories Change The Present
As his ship passed by a lonely island, Odysseus heard beautiful voices singing a haunting melody. It was a melody that could lure even the most seasoned sailors to wreck their ships on the rocky shores, trapping them forever. Odysseus was warned about the dangers of the beautiful part-bird part-human Sirens and their magical song, but he was curious. Not wanting to be tempted away from his ship, he ordered his men to plug their ears with wax and tie him to the ship. The song pulled at Odysseus’s heartstrings, and he fought to free himself. He begged his men to untie him, but they stayed true to their word and kept him from losing himself to the Siren’s song.