These photos were taken by U.S. Army veteran Matthew Letterman during the Persian Gulf War. He described the desert combat experience as surviving on the moon’s surface: it is unforgiving, unrelenting and unforgettable. Even worse, the feeling remained when he returned home.

Photos by Matt LettermanSlideshow by Jordan Zappala

On the Surface of the Moon

Letterman was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Field Artillery of the 1st Armored Division, stationed in Zirndorf, Germany. He and his unit served in Operation Desert Storm from December 1990 to May 1991.

Letterman said he and others began to notice health problems while still in the Gulf, but they assumed it was the result of dehydrated Army meals, bad water or general tension - at first.

Letterman - known as “Pops” to his unit since he was the eldest at age 27 - said his symptoms got worse as the time passed, instead of better. He started having chest pain and breathing problems.

Returning stateside, Letterman said he thought he was young, strong and ready to work. Instead, he was plagued by episodes of post-traumatic stress disorder, in addition to severe headaches and night sweats.

Front line forces, including Letterman’s unit, were exposed to multiple toxins during deployment, including chemical and biological agents, smoke from oil well fires and multiple aggressive vaccines.

Letterman said their “NBC” alarms (nuclear, biological, chemical) went off so often, the commanding officers told his unit to ignore them.

Seventeen years after his return from the Gulf, Letterman said he is continually plagued by rashes, migraine headaches, joint and muscle pain, peripheral artery disease, sleep apnea, chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, chest pain, shortness of breath, and PTSD.

No longer able to work, Letterman filed his first disability claim with the VA in 2006.

The VA said that Letterman’s ailments were not “service-connected” and denied his request for benefits in 2007, nearly a year after he submitted the claim. He is currently appealing the decision.

The Research Advisory Committee finally answered cry of so many veterans, conceding in 2008 that many troops left the desert with more than they had bargained for; Gulf War Illness is real.

The committee’s report pointed toward anti-nerve gas pills and pesticides as potential causes of the illness plaguing one in four Gulf War veterans, but noted that the oil fires and chemical agents could not be ruled out..

“In combat, we do not leave our wounded on the battlefield. What about back on the home front?”

- Matthew Letterman