Source: Military Times

Iraq war veteran Brian Mandes’ new job may not be on a battlefield, but his weapon of choice is still a gun. This one, though, shoots nails instead of bullets. Recently hired to work on building an addition to a home in northern Virginia, Mandes, 44, is fulfilling a lifelong dream of working in the construction industry. And with just four weeks on the job, he already has big plans for the future. 

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Source: Stars & Stripes

Stars & Stripes featured the article originally written by the Washington Post.

Source: Washington Post

For the better part of the past half century, Vietnam veteran Bob Luckett has been working in the construction industry. Luckett, 69, started out as a laborer in a masonry company after completing his military service in 1971. It was tough work at first. His boss "was great, but he worked you to death," he said, and soon Luckett developed an allergy to the lime in mortar.