About Justin C. Cliburn

Justin has been a UPSer, a crime reporter and a legal assistant and spent a year in Iraq with the Oklahoma Army National Guard. After his return he studied Political Science and Journalism at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla. In 2011, he got married and began law school at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

The Boots

Iraq war deaths, US war dead, mourning father, dead soldier son, Boston Marathon hero, Arredondo

” … and then it hit me … the boots weren’t his.” An encounter with the Boston Marathon hero Carlos Arredondo, five years earlier, tells a story of love and grief.

The Power of the Trigger: My Time in the Iraqi Civil War

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Justin Cliburn speaks about his time as a gunner in Iraq.

The Trauma of Lost Love

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The U.S. has left Iraq, but Iraq has not left one U.S. soldier, writes veteran Justin Cliburn.

Shaving Taught Me Everything I Know About Being a Man

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When you’re running a sharp blade along your face, Justin Cliburn writes, you teach yourself patience, pride, and humility.