QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY, Md. — A Queen Anne’s County Marine Corps veteran says it took more than a decade after returning home from war for the emotional wounds of combat to finally break through. But with help from the VA and a service dog named Sal he says he’s found his way back to the father and husband he always hoped to be.

Paul Sullivan was a college student in 2003, watching the Iraq invasion unfold on television, when he felt a deep pull to serve. He joined the Marine Corps that summer, deployed to Iraq in 2005, and later transitioned into a career in law enforcement. Sullivan said the mission, the structure, and the fast pace all felt familiar.

While he left the career physically unscathed, some scars were invisible.

Sullivan says he spent years pushing down trauma from both comba

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