Video: Local Iraq Veteran Talks About War Impact

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — As Americans honor veterans on their special day this week, WCBI takes a look at the toll war takes on the country’s heroes, once they come back home from serving overseas.

Ronald Gatewood, Jr. was deployed in Iraq back in 2005 with an Army National Guard unit from North Mississippi.

He wasn’t injured, but being in that type of environment still took a toll on him.

“Kind’ve had to learn how to live, and adapt to not having the common luxuries we have here in the United States,” Gatewood said. “Stressful at times being away from family, being in a war zone.”

Even though Gatewood was only gone for a year, he says the emotional impact can last much longer.

He says it can take months, even years to adapt.

“When you’re over there, you’re on high alert the whole time you’re over there. Then you come back home. You have to get used to not being in a danger zone. You have to get used to your surroundings,” he said.

It’s especially difficult when some of his fellow servicemen were injured. One even lost his life.

“Especially when you think about – you travel over there with these guys, you ideally want to see everybody you travel with to make it back home with you. So yeah, it kind’ve touched everybody when that happened.”

And Gatewood says Veteran’s Day is just another reminder about those sacrifices our troops make.

“Let the veterans know that America is thinking about them, and that the time they spent wasn’t in vain,” he said.

Something Americans should do not just on Veteran’s Day, but all year.