Local Iraq War Veterans Reflect on Service
Published, by Sam Taylor, in the Bellingham Herald, March 16 2008
Tim Nelson never got a Purple Heart. But the 25-year-old former Marine was knocked out in explosions and had thefront of a truck he was in blown off.
In counseling recently, Nelson said, they've been talking about the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, aconflict he served in with other local veterans. It's important to talk about such anniversaries and milestones, hewas told, as he deals with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"I know it was a big thing for me, it was my first deployment," he said. "It was the first time I got shot at ever. A lot."
Nelson and others from the area are reflecting on their service in the Middle East, where they walked 10-hour footpatrols and their personal water supply warmed up like bath water. Where they gave candy to Iraqi children and money to villages to help provide services. Where car bombs tore through crowds and improvised explosive devices took the livesof some of their fellow soldiers.
While media pundits and civilians discuss the merits of the war, for or against, displeasure with the president anddeaths of soldiers, several local veterans are discussing their own service. Some are against the war. Some are for it. Some are too busy focusing on transitioning to civilian life -- school, work, marriage -- to really be concerned aboutthe validity of the conflict.
For all the veterans interviewed, the Iraq War was about doing their jobs, whether they liked them or not.
Nelson is proud of his service. He said his time in Iraq was fulfilling because he was able to use the training andskills he was constantly honing. When he came home he wanted to advocate for veterans rights, and he became chapterpresident for Veterans of Modern Warfare. He's too busy coordinating events, going to counseling, school and being married to decide whether he likes the Iraq War, he said.
Ken Putney, 39, is retired from a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy and is a self-described liberal. He was on the USS Abraham Lincoln when the carrier participated in the "Shock and Awe" campaign at the beginning of the war inMarch 2003.
"I was probably the only vegetarian on a 5,000-person crewed ship," he said, laughing.
Putney, who now works in the Computer Information and Support Services department at Bellingham Technical College, atthe time argued with his fellow shipmates about the validity of the war. When President George W. Bush went on thecarrier and administration staff hung a "Mission Accomplished" banner behind him, Putney boycotted theevent.
After the initial campaign was over and they were sailing home, he said he started to think maybe his opinion waswrong.
"For that period, that heroes' welcome home, it was quite an amazing thing and it does make you proud ofwhat you did, whether you believed in it at the time or not," he said.
Today, with more information coming out, he's decided he's still not happy with the war. He chooses to not protest on the streets, but instead to use his right to vote to speak his mind. Putney said he signed a contract thatsaid he'd do a job and he did it.
Joe Westby is 26 and going to Whatcom Community College to seek a career in law enforcement. As a Marine he fought inthe first battle of Fallujah in 2004, a conflict sparked when four Blackwater security consultants were killed, burnedand hanged from a bridge.
He said he was proud of his service, and loved his time in the Marines. He didn't mind Iraq, either.
"I'm not trying to say it was a good time and I had a party," he said, "but I was doing a jobthat I believe in and I still believe in and I'm really proud of what I did over there."
Westby said that while he respects people's differing opinions, it does bother him when people post soldierdeath counts in their yards. One such sign sits on a fence post on Lakeway Drive.
Larry Enriquez just graduated from Western Washington University with a business management degree. He did a tourwith the Army Reserves and helped manage cargo and supplies out of a base at the Baghdad Airport.
He recalls a relative calm when he first got there, and wondered, "What next?" In the months ahead, thebase would suffer random mortar attacks, and Enriquez got some experience with car bombs that shredded through crowds ofcivilians.
When he got home, he started getting involved in the peace activist community in Bellingham. He's on the boardof the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center and is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
Enriquez hopes some change will come with a presidential election. Reflecting on the five-year anniversary, he putsit in perspective.
"I really can't believe it," he said. "Not even World War II went on that long."
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