The Impact of War NPR news and stories about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Interviews with soldiers, world leaders, veterans, and families on the home front. Read and listen to stories and subscribe to RSS feeds.
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The Impact of War

Jason Kander addresses a rally last year. He withdrew from the race for mayor of Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, saying he suffered from PTSD related to his military service in Afghanistan. Holly Ramer/AP hide caption

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Holly Ramer/AP
Claire Harbage/NPR

In 'Waiting For Eden,' Grief With No Guarantee Of Closure

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Nico Walker wrote his semi-autobiographical novel Cherry while in federal prison for armed bank robbery. Courtesy of Nico Walker hide caption

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Courtesy of Nico Walker

An Iraq Veteran, Heroin Addict, Bank Robber And Debut Novelist

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Military members carry transfer cases from a C-17 at a ceremony marking the arrival of the remains believed to be of American service members who fell in the Korean War at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, on Wednesday. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption

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Susan Walsh/AP

Seeking Closure, An Effort To Repatriate Remains Of U.S. Vets Killed In Korean War

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Karin Bruwelheide handles an amputates limb that dates back to the Civil War. The bones were discovered by scientists at Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia. Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History have been analyzing the bones to learn more about them and who they may have belonged to. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

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Meredith Rizzo/NPR

Civil War Battlefield 'Limb Pit' Reveals Work Of Combat Surgeons

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(Top) Britnee Kinard's husband, Hamilton, has a brain injury and PTSD. She got kicked off the program by the Charleston VA in 2014. (Left) Hamilton's daily medication. (Right) His uniform in the closet at their home in Richmond Hill, Ga. Eva Verbeeck for NPR hide caption

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Eva Verbeeck for NPR

VA's Caregiver Program Still Dropping Veterans With Disabilities

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Marines based in Okinawa, Japan, fire an M136 AT-4 rocket launcher as part of a weapons training exercise on the Kaneohe Bay Range Training Facility, in 2014. Lance Cpl. Matthew Bragg/U.S. Marines/DVIDS hide caption

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Lance Cpl. Matthew Bragg/U.S. Marines/DVIDS

Army 'Leans In' To Protect A Shooter's Brain From Blast Injury

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U.S. Marines fire the Carl Gustav rocket system during live-fire training last October. With each firing, the shooter's brain is exposed to pulses of high pressure air emanating from the explosion that travel faster than the speed of sound. Sgt. Aaron Patterson/3rd Marine Division/DVIDS hide caption

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Sgt. Aaron Patterson/3rd Marine Division/DVIDS

Report To Army Finds Blast From Some Weapons May Put Shooter's Brain At Risk

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'Bring The War Home' Shows 'Lone Wolf' Terrorists Are Really Part Of A Pack

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Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army soldiers celebrate around a statue of Kawa, a mythology figure in Kurdish culture as they prepare to destroy it in city center of Afrin, northwestern Syria, early Sunday. Hasan Kirmizitas/AP hide caption

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Hasan Kirmizitas/AP

Trump Executive Order Aims To Expand Veteran Mental Health Care

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Pieces of cloth that Mansour Omari and other inmates at a notorious Syrian prison used to document the names of the "disappeared" held with them. They made ink out of blood from their bleeding gums and rust from the prison bars. Dylan Collins/Courtesy of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum hide caption

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Dylan Collins/Courtesy of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Names Written In Blood And Rust: Documenting Syria's Disappeared

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The Number Of Homeless Veterans Rises

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Former Bosnian military chief Ratko Mladic appears for the pronouncement of the tribunal's judgment at The Hague on Wednesday. Michel Porro/Getty Images hide caption

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Michel Porro/Getty Images

The Sentencing Of A Monster

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What POW/MIA Means To A New Generation Of Veterans

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