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Stressed-out 'Marlboro Man' files for divorce
Too bad...Marine whose photo made him war icon had just renewed vows An Iraq war veteran whose photograph in the Los Angeles Times and profile in The Chronicle made him an icon of the war filed for divorce less than three weeks after a wedding paid for by a sympathetic public. James Blake Miller first came to the public's attention in a 2004 Los Angeles Times photo, in which the grubby, exhausted Marine lance corporal takes a break from combat in Fallujah with a cigarette dangling from his lips. The picture earned him the nickname "Marlboro Man." Miller, 21, filed for divorce from his wife Jessica, 23, on June 20. The two had been married for more than a year, but renewed their vows June 3 at a formal event at a Pike County, Ky., golf course paid for by well-wishers who had read about Miller's struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder in The Chronicle and elsewhere. Miller -- who publicly discussed his battles with PTSD -- said Monday that he was still deeply grateful to those who paid for the wedding, but that dealing with day-to-day issues on top of his stress from the war had become too much to deal with. "I'm looking for time to try to figure out what exactly I need to do -- not just for me and Jessica, but for myself as well," he said. "I love Jessica, I really do ... but I can't be with her." Jessica Miller said she still hopes the couple can work out their issues. "I think neither one of us recognized the scope of post-traumatic stress disorder, and what it does to you and what it does to people around you," she said. "Now he's got to figure out how to deal with PTSD before he can deal with me." Like her husband, Jessica Miller said she was grateful to all those that have helped the couple in the past months. "Now, more than ever, he needs our support and for everybody to respect his privacy and let him clear his head," she said. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs and other organizations, male veterans with PTSD are more likely to report marital problems than veterans without PTSD. Military mental health experts have suggested that may be linked to the recent surge in military divorce rates. Between 2001 and 2004, for example, divorces among active-duty Army officers and enlisted personnel nearly doubled, even though troop strength remained the same. Posted by: tu3031 2006-06-28 |
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