I’m terrified when I’m out on a battlefield. Telling these stories, I think it’s important that people understand what it’s like out there, what people go through, who are the people who are doing this in Afghanistan on our behalf. Most of us have sat this war out. I want them to know what it’s like and who is in the middle of it and what the consequences are. Beyond that, I don’t really have an agenda. I think that’s really important, especially in a democracy. We need to know who is doing it and what it’s like for them.

— David Wood is a conscientious objector and a Quaker who has spent the past 35 years on a battlefield reporting about war.

One of the things that we as a country are learning is that people who are wounded in war are wounded forever.

— On Thursday’s Fresh Air, veteran combat reporter David Wood talks about some of the challenges that severely wounded soldiers face when they return home from Afghanistan and Iraq.

On today’s show: What happens to severely injured troops when they return home from Iraq and Afghanistan? We talk with veteran combat reporter David Wood about the endless struggle for the severely wounded.

washingtonpoststyle:

Dan: “You know, I am missing my legs. Is that an issue?”

Rebecca: “I never dated a guy because he had nice knees. But I do like nice arms.”

Love after war. Photo by Nikki Kahn (TWP)

Tomorrow: a conversation with journalist David Wood about the complexity and severity of wounds suffered by soldiers who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the lack of long term care available to help them. Wood’s series Beyond The Battlefield appears in The Huffington Post.