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How do you find peace after war? A combat vet and NPR reporter’s bond points a way November 16, 20255:00 AM ET
Dave Carlson, of Eau Claire, Wis., poses for a portrait outside his home on May 30. NPR Veterans Correspondent Quil Lawrence and Carlson began corresponding 10 years ago when Carlson, an Iraq vet, was incarcerated. Their conversations follow the evolution of Carlson’s life and transformation — from an incarcerated vet struggling with addiction to husband, father and practicing lawyer. Caroline Yang for NPR hide caption
toggle caption Caroline Yang for NPR
The first I saw of Dave Carlson was his back, in a prison jumpsuit on Sept. 3, 2015. Carlson had been calling me from the cellblock payphone for a few weeks for an NPR story about incarcerated combat veterans and PTSD.
“Jail is the least therapeutic atmosphere you could probably ever imagine,” Carlson had told me over a scratchy phone line. “You come in one way and you leave three times worse.”
Now I finally got a look at him, while the judge decided if Carlson could walk free — or stay locked up for up to six more years. He was 31, and the only Black man I remember seeing in that courtroom in Waukesha, Wisc. Nearly done with a four-year sentence for robberies and drug offenses, he was facing additional charges for crimes he’d committed inside prison.
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Carlson served two combat tours in Iraq, and none of his military buddies could make sense of how he’d wound up sitting in the dock.
Listen to “Carlson’s War”
Hear NPR’s 2-part story about Dave Carlson, an Iraq vet who journeyed from war to incarceration to redemption on his long path to coming home.
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Carlson’s War: Part 1
Carlson’s War: Part 1
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