Sean O'Neill receives a purple heart in Iraq.

Hear an audio clip of Sean O'Neil

Sean O'Neill is a decorated Marine who served in Iraq twice, first during the 2003 invasion, and the second from March to July 2004. On his second mission, he was wounded in a firefight, when his right eardrum was blown out. Sean received the Purple Heart, Navy Achievement Medal (with Combat "V") and Combat Action Ribbon.

Sean's speaks powerfully to the realities of the US Occupation of Iraq from first-hand experience serving on the ground there during the last two years. His view that the war was mishandled and should be ended began towards the end of his first trip to Iraq. "We had a lot of contact with Iraqi civilians in the Ad Diwaniyah area," Sean explained. "In talking to them, it became evident that they were glad that Saddam was gone but that the US forces needed to leave as well."

By 2004, on his second deployment, Sean's company was told they would be providing the Iraqis the stability they needed to rebuild. "This sounded good in theory but in reality the Army had been there for a year and had done nothing except incur the resentment of the local population," Sean said.

Topics covered

• Iraq War Veteran Speaks Out