As we near the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Yahoo News asked U.S. servicemen and women who served to share their perspectives and discuss how it changed them. Here's one story.
FIRST PERSON | On the morning of September 11, 2001, I sat in the confines of a receiving bay on Parris Island in South Carolina and wondered what I had gotten myself into.
Did you serve in Iraq? Interested in sharing your story? Learn more here.
I heard a brief commotion coming from the drill instructors in our room, so I looked up to see what they were talking about. I glanced at the only television in the room and was shocked to see an image of the World Trade Center on fire. As 21-year-old Toms River, N.J., native, I naively joined the Marine Corps looking for a new adventure and a fresh beginning. After watching the towers crumble to the ground, my world would be turned upside down and the adventure I so eagerly wanted would escalate to a new level, one that I never anticipated.
Three years later, in February 2004, I was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq, with the Delta Company Outlaws, 2ndLight Armored Reconnaissance Battaltion, 2nd Marine Division. I had the honor of serving as a corporal in the scout section leader role for 1st Platoon.
Day in and day out for seven months, our company would conduct operations in some of the most dangerous places in Al Anbar province. As a company, we experienced many things most civilians could never fathom. By the end of our deployment, we lost eight fine Marines in total, men whom I consider my brothers.
As we began to take on losses within our company, a makeshift memorial was built in our section of Camp Baharia to honor the ultimate sacrifice that so many of our comrades made. This memorial came to represent a bond, one which will never be forgotten or taken lightly. It brought us closer together as a family, making us shed our differences and realize that we were all in it together, not as individuals, but as one big, diverse family.
It's been nine years since I came back from Iraq. In that time, I've moved back to my hometown of Toms River, married a wonderful woman, Melissa, and become a father to two perfect boys, Gavin, 9 months, and Joshua, who is turning 3 in April. I've had the opportunity to complete two college degrees, wrote a book about my time overseas, entitled "Memoirs of an Outlaw," and was fortunate to find a job working for the Department of Veterans Affairs as a business systems analyst.
But every time I think of all that I've accomplished, I realize that eight of my brothers, along with thousands of other fallen service members, will never get to have those experiences. They will not get to experience the satisfaction of graduating from college, the butterflies they feel when they marry the woman of their dreams, or the overwhelming joy felt when their child is born.
This daily guilt is my scar, a constant reminder that life is finite and could end tomorrow. My experiences have greatly humbled me, bringing my na?ve aspirations of worldly adventure back down to earth. Rather than worry about what tomorrow will bring, I focus on what is before me, ensuring that all those I encounter on a daily basis know that I care for them, whether I agree with them or not. Because, if tomorrow doesn't come for me, I want my last impression to be my best.
There are many things I wish I could take back. I wish my brothers were still with me today. I wish I could see pictures of their weddings or children on Facebook. I wish I could read their daily rants in my news feed.
But, in the end, I would never wish away my time in Iraq. It made me a better man, scars and all.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-person-marine-iraq-brotherhood-loss-life-lessons-011000623.html
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