Saved by the Bastards

Reporters are writing a lot of good stories about the troubles veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars face once they come home. One of my favorites appeared Sunday in The Portland Oregonian. In "Wounded Lives," Julie Sullivan tells the story of Oregon National Guardsman William R. Stout Jr., whose life tumbles out of control after he returns home from Iraq because of post-traumatic stress disorder. She describes how a group of wounded veterans called the Blasted Bastards, along with his wife and two daughters, pull together to give him the help he desperately needs. It's a story of love, war, pain and the bonds of friendship. Sullivan's story features deep reporting and a compelling narrative that makes it hard to stop reading.