Untitled Entry:

Freedom is good

Freedom is great

Freedom ain't free

Someone else always pays

I sleep at night knowing this to be true But let it be known better them than me I'll forget about your cause, I'll forget about your God, I'll forget about your flag So I will sleep well tonight So why should I care who slaps on a green monkey suit?

I sleep at night because I remember better them than me.

Untitled Entry (August 4th, 2003):

I miss Shylah so much. Its like somedays I have been just living with the pain but today it's so bad. The worst thing about this place is that you have so much time on your hands notice everything about life. You have no way of hiding anything about yourself whatsoever.

I've decided to order as many books possible off the internet. I feel like I can hide in the books I read find some privacy in my head.

Hopefully, I can last long enough to get back to my daughter.

Nicole Goodwin served as a Private First Class during Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Her daughter, Shylah, was only a few months old when Nicole left for Iraq.  Soon after her return to the United States, Nicole and her daughter found themselves homeless.  After weeks of struggle with the Department of Homeless Services, spending her nights on buses and in shelters with her baby, Nicole found a new home with the help of the VA.  She now balances going to school, raising her child, working as a veterans' advocate at Operation Truth.   

Nicole has been featured in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, Air America's "Unfiltered," and on the CBS "Evening News."   You can hear her interview from December 27th on Democracy Now.  She is also the subject of a new documentary, "When I Came Home." 

If you enjoyed reading Nicole' s story and would like continue to read more of such stories, plese help us by contributing to Operation Truth. Click here to donate. To arrange an interview with Nicole, contact press[at]iava.org.