Free Republic

BLOOMINGTON (AP) – U.S. Army Col. Dirk Spanton survived three tours and 32 months in Iraq, only to come home and find out that he has just months to live because of cancer. Still, the 50-year-old husband and father of five says he feels lucky. "I could have gotten killed while I was over there and not gotten to say goodbye to my family," said Spanton of Bloomington. "This way, I'm lucky. How many people get to say goodbye to their kids, their wife and their family? You don't like the short time frame, but it's at least a time...

BLOOMINGTON -- U.S. Army Col. Dirk Spanton lived with the possibility of dying every day during the 32 months he served with Special Forces in Iraq. The Bloomington man was shot at by insurgents, sent to minefields to disarm explosives and once had a rocket-propelled grenade come within feet of ending his life. After three tours of duty in the desert, the 50-year-old former ROTC instructor finally returned home to his wife and five children on Memorial Day. Within days, the family’s joy turned to sorrow as Spanton was hospitalized with a mysterious illness. Doctors later diagnosed him with cancer...