Oregon Public Broadcasting

Next we'll hear from three veterans.

Jeremiah Washborn served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Oregon National Guard.

Jeremiah Washborn: "My company had half of our battalion's total killed in action and we got blown up a lot, we got ambushed a lot."

Bill Case was a helicopter door gunner with the Army. He fought two tours in Vietnam.

Bill Case: "I just remember the mist on the ground and the smell, the smell was just horrible. There was a pile of bodies next to where we landed."

Jack Sampson served with the Marines in WW 2 during the infamous battle on Iwo Jima. 

Jack Sampson: "They said everybody off the beach, they're just murdering us on the beach here. And we gotta get off of here."

All three saw combat, and all three came home, alive and in one piece.

They sat down to talk with independent producer Steve Greenberg about making the transition from war zone to civilian life.