They say the truth can set you free, but sometimes it can also help you understand things are too hard to put into words.

"I was watching the news during a layover in Germany after we'd brought wounded warriors to the hospital and was just stunned at how different it was from what I was actually experiencing," said retired Capt. Ed Hrivnak.

Hrivnak, who served in the Air Force Nursing Corps during the initial Iraq invasion and was deployed as part of the first wave of troops, began writing about his experiences and sending them to family and friends at home as a way to comprehend what he was seeing. His stories and recounts of transporting the wounded got passed around and he even began receiving fan mail and being interviewed by Stars and Stripes.

"It wasn't because I was an expert writer or had a degree in literature, but I was speaking from the heart and people appreciated that," he said.

His new book, entitled Wounded, A Legacy of Operation Iraqi Freedom, compiles all of his stories into one complete book that also features behind the scenes details that look at the strain of caring for these men and women.

Read Melissa Renahan's full feature on in the Wounded, A Legacy of Operation Iraqi Freedom Music and Culture section.

WOUNDED, A LEGACY OF OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM BOOK SIGNING, 6-9 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12, Garfield Book Company, 208 Garfield St. S., Tacoma, 252.535.7665