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Junior English-Green

Mr. Purney

7 Dec. 20201

Rule Number Two Essay

Whenever people think about different wars in history, they often think of the big picture.

An example is the Iraq War. Many Americans know that the invasion of Iraq was a part of the

War on Terror, by George Bush, and how America left years later. However, far fewer Americans

know about what happened during the years that we were in Iraq and the stories of the people

that had to go through it. These stories are shown with Rule Number Two. The book is a memoir

by Heidi Kraft, a psychologist deployed to Iraq in order to help the Marines serving in Iraq. The

book shares different stories that Kraft lived through during her deployment. The stories told

throughout the memoir of Rules Number Two, by Heidi Kraft, show how war affects all parties

involved not just physically but mentally.

The physical ailments that the Marines face are seen near the beginning of Kraft’s

deployment in Iraq. This is when she meets Corporal Dunham, who faced tremendous injuries in

order to save others. The author writes, “At his brief visit to a forward resuscitative surgical suite

before he came to us, other medical personnel had placed this lifesaving artificial airway and

applied what was now a blood-soaked bandage around his head. His eyes were shut, bulging

from his face and giving his eyelids the appearance of swollen, bruised globes [...] had two

obvious entrance wounds to the frontal lobes of his brain” (58-59). The wounds were bad enough

that Jess, a pediatric cardiologist, had to give the order to send him to the expectant ward, a place

that is reserved for people who have little to no chance of surviving. Although the doctors kept
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him alive, Kraft later learns that he died due to his parents withdrawing life support from him.

This is when she leans from Cat, the executive officer, when Cat explains, “‘He placed his

helmet over a live grenade and tucked it under his body” (94). Due to this sacrifice, Dunham was

able to save other men from possible physical harm. This sacrifice not only did severe physical

damage to Dunham but also caused mental damage to his parents, who had to see their child

damaged like this. This was likely the reason that caused them to withdraw life support from

him, feeling that it would be better for him. Although this can affect people at the individual

level, it can also affect an entire group of people.

Later on Heidi’s deployment, she is called to participate in group therapy with a Seabee

reserve unit, a construction battalion in the U.S. navy. The Seabee unit was attacked with an IED

attack and had others attacked with mortar shells, killing and injuring many people. It is due to

these attacks of others dying, with most having been together for over 18 years, that the unit had

to go to group therapy. The author writes, “The first group of Al Asad Seabees cried together.

They expressed grief, anger, fear, and fatigue. They talked of survivors’ guilt” (131). Survivor

guilt is a medical condition characterized by people believing that they did something wrong for

surviving instead of others. This type of guilt can manifest long-term problems such as

depression and PTSD. This highlights how the aftershocks of war can affect your lifetime. Even

if a person does not get physically injured, the trauma that comes with war will affect the person

for the rest of that person’s life. This trauma, however, affects not only the military but civilians

on the ground.

At one point, Heidi is called to talk to an Iraqi informant who was given the nickname of

“Mr. Oda ''. The day before Heidi went to discuss with Mr. Oda, he was found in his cell trying

to kill himself. Although she had an initial issue talking to him, she then started learning about
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his past, The author writes, “It took nearly an hour to learn that his family was from nearby. He

was one of many children. His cousin was the insurgent whose demise was sealed when the

patient provided information to the Americans. He had been engaged, but after the arrest of his

cousin his fiancée was ‘gone.’ “ (146). These experiences may have ultimately led to his current

condition. Being imprisoned by the Americans and having lost his fiancée and possibly his

cousin. This shows how everyday people can be heavily affected by war.