TOLEDO, Ohio — On the morning of March 20, 2003, a volley of bombings - dubbed "shock and awe" - rained down on the Iraqi city of Baghdad and announced the beginning stages of the United States' invasion of Iraq.
"There was a lot of excitement, nervous excitement, nervous tension, we all knew, everyone in my class knew, as soon as we graduate we're probably going over there," said David Gedman, a sergeant and Army veteran who was in training at the start of the campaign.
In the months that followed, thousands of American troops were deployed, giving little time to pack up and say goodbye. Kendra Sowle, a tech sergeant and Air Force veteran, was one of those troops.
"My husband is at the M-16 range, qualifying," Sowle said. "I need to kinda let him know his wife is going to Iraq in two weeks."
"I left my 19-year-old pregnant wife when I went over there the first time," Gedman said. "Missed my eldest daughter's birth."
Only months into the deployment, the realities of combat took their toll.
"It was fine... If you think it was fine," Sowle said. "We got shot at every day."
"We lost an aircraft, we lost the flight crew, and I was in maintenance, so we lost my squad leader and another buddy of mine," Gedman said.
It all left wounds that couldn't be detected with the naked eye.
"It wasn't World War II PTSD, it wasn't Vietnam PTSD, it was emotional stuff and it was 'suck it up,'" Sowle said. "So, we didn't know for a long time."
"My best friend kind of lost his fight with the demons that that place kind of helped him acquire, so I kind of deal with that stuff every day," said Gedman.
But in the years since their return, they've found outlets for that darkness.
Sowle is a member of Veterans Unite, which meets at Interstate Lanes every Thursday at 2 p.m. and Gedman is a member of Taskforce 20. Both of them are bonding with others who went through similar experiences.
"We share stories, we share current problems," Sowle said.
"It's therapeutic because you feel you belong and it's not that bad and you're not alone," Gedman said.
But as both veterans recover, they're not sure if they ever should have been in Iraq back in 2003.
"I don't know if you asked an Iraqi right now if they would say the millions of lives were worth it," Gedman said.
"I don't regret anything I've ever done," Sowle said. "But I do have a different perspective and view on it."