Veteran's Day - revisited

byMBobb

774 followers

10 years ago

So today we will be reminded that today is Veteran's Day. We celebrate the lives and bravery of past and present soldiers, and the sacrifice that they gave to their country. As a veteran, I would like to just share a few of my thoughts and experiences I have.

First off, I am a veteran of Desert Storm. This particular engagement does not get the recognition like the World Wars or Vietnam War, but still, it was an engagement that cost lives. I remember the first time we saw on the news that Iraq invaded Kuwait. I was sitting in my room with three other of my fellow Marines. We listened to the news broadcast and turned to each other and said, "yep. we are on our way". Sure enough, within three weeks, we were issued desert camouflage gear and other survival materials that we would need to hopefully help us come back home. The piece of equipment that stands out the most was not my rifle, but my gas mask. They told us that we will be using that gas mask a lot. It was a fear that Iraq was going to Nerve Gas us. That got my attention. At that time, I use to have hair on my head, but because I associated the dessert with heat, I went to the barber and for the first time shaved off all my hair. What a cue ball I had! But what I also found out that it made it much easier to put that gas mask on in five seconds!

We flew from California to Iraq in a big jumbo plane. Because the Marines are the first in, they did not even had a place for us to stay. We were stationed in an airplane hanger sleeping on cots. Talk about knowing your neighbor first hand. We were on top of one another, but they keep flying us in. Anything thing is that the dessert is COLD at night. We were freezing. The weird thing about this hanger was that it was next to the ocean, so we had planes on one side and ships on the other. The significant part about those ships were that they were HUGE. Well I found out why they were so big as I saw tanks, jeeps, armored cars, and other wheeled weaponry get off-loaded from those massive carriers and lined up ready for deployment. We were not playing.

The Marines and the Navy have a love/hate relationship. Although the Marines was created for rapid deployment of the sea, the two branches act like sibling rivals. But before I go any further, I need to tip my hat to the Navy Seabees. They went ahead of us and went into a barren desert and built a city. They created "housing", ran electricity, and gave us living accommodations that were truly astounding. It was amazing and I am forever indebted to the Seabees for giving us a slice of "normality" in such a chaotic situation. So if any Naval personal is reading this: Thank you.........

My job in the Marines was satellite communication. This was before cellphones, mind you, so it was brand new technology and first time being use in wartime. The machines we used were so archaic that I cant even describe them to you. But this equipment was a vital piece of the unit because it allowed encrypted messages to be sent to the units. Messages from Generals and even the President came over these airways. I knew how many troops was in the field, when hostilities were taken place, and other information that if it made it into enemies hands, it would have compromised the whole mission. But I mention this particular piece of the story because I had a running narrative of the whole war. Any deaths, threats, interception of messages from the enemy, or anything that had to do with that war, I knew about it, or at least what came over on my shift of duty. It was so personal to me reading the names of people that did not make it back. It became personal when the name was a person that was in my unit.

I will not get into a lot of the gory details, but needless to say, I saw some things that will remain in my head until I am gone. Mutilated bodies, grown men crying, blood, and despair was a way of life for me for about four months. Getting woken up in the middle of the night because the alarms are shieling due to an attack happening became normal. Hunkered in a bunker with your gas mask on, listening to a radio for the "all clear" sign was the norm. instead of the exception. You are always on edge, ready to snap at any turn. Your rifle is ready to put in work. I did not have the unfortunate opportunity to kill anyone, and I am grateful of that. But I did see the aftermath of death and it will stay with me forever.

Today is Veteran's Day. As one, I appreciate the gesture and the opportunity to be recognized. Today I will reflected on my experiences and say a prayer to everyone that was before me and a prayer for those that will follow after me. To all my Veterans, enjoy your day, and Thank you.