Trueman ([info]rebelcoyote) wrote,
@ 2005-12-01 14:46:00
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Current mood:Fine
Current music:Kanye West-Gold digger

While I was in the spanish lab today I noticed that the guy in front of me was wearing a silver bracelet like the one I wear for Wise. I couldn't quite make out the words on it but I could tell it wasn't one of the Wise bracelets and I think I saw the word Nasiriah. Odds are he was a vet like me who'd lost a buddy. I kind of wanted to say something to him, just ask him if he was a vet. The language lab isn't really a place to chat though and I wasn't about to ask him to step outside to chat.

It was just kind of weird to realize this guy was a vet. He looked about my age and didn't have that look that guys who are actually in the military or the guard do. Plus it's not the kind of place where you expect to meet a veteran. I guess that's what it must be like for everyone else when they find out that I'm a vet.

I suppose that although everyone is aware that there is a war going on and that that that war is fought by an army which is composed primarily of young men, it's so far removed from the context of our daily lives that it's strange to meet someone who was actually a part of it.


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[info]anaxandra
2005-12-01 09:18 pm UTC (link)
young men and women. brave ones. it almost doesn't seem real, what's going on in iraq.

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[info]rebsreich
2005-12-01 10:03 pm UTC (link)
Well you might see him again..strike up a conversation.

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[info]roninspoon
2005-12-01 10:16 pm UTC (link)
Everytime I see someone on campus in pieces or parts of military gear, I wonder if they're a veteran. Sometimes I want to start up a conversation with them, but I rarely do. I used to wear an Airborne hat a lot, so that I could easily be recognized as a veteran, and maybe save myself the trouble of starting a conversation. Some time ago, I realized that I was actually wearing the hat, so that I could give people the opportunity to recognize me for my own selfish reasons.

Every once in a while someone will ask if I was in the Army. At first I thouhgt it was odd, I was wearing the hat after all. As it turns out, some people wear military stuff, uniforms, insignia, hats, even though they're not in the military. This struck as really foreign for some reason.

Damn posers.

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[info]rebelcoyote
2005-12-02 10:07 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I feel wierd advertising my service. Still, this veterans day, I really felt like I should have something on signifying my status, especially since I was flying that day. I really felt like I should be getting free stuff.

I'd love to get free stuff and special treatment on veteran's day but I don't want to have to carry on a conversation with alot of people who just want to thank me for my service.

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[info]roninspoon
2005-12-02 10:38 pm UTC (link)
Good luck with that free stuff. In the 12 years since I got out, I think something like three or four strangers have ever asked about or acknoledged my veteran status in public, and I wear that damned hat all the time. I used to have a Saudi Arabia service ribbon on my jacket and one dude at the airport noticed that and asked. That was pretty cool.

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[info]jimmuxlow
2008-08-11 06:39 pm UTC (link)
By RW-(the original) February 3, AM | Link to this WashingtonState, That really sounds like something that can be worked out if people like you turn up the heat.

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[info]powerlifter260
2005-12-02 08:47 am UTC (link)
I haven't met any other Iraq vets in Tally. On the other hand as soon as a civilian realizes I'm a combat vet...

"So did you kill anybody?"

One of these days I'm going to reply:
Yep, and I still do here in the states, they just haven't caught me yet."

Ah and for all those military personel/ROTC cadets/random idiots with their dog tags hanging out... be prepared for me to rip them off.

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[info]rebelcoyote
2005-12-02 10:04 pm UTC (link)
hear hear. I've usually noticed that although I'm almost never asked if I killed anyone, most people want to know.

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[info]aubreykivett
2008-08-11 11:44 am UTC (link)
But if that's what people want to hear, it's what they want to hear. Your tastes at 15 are not so developed, you know.

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[info]roninspoon
2005-12-02 10:40 pm UTC (link)
I never know how to answer that question.

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[info]powerlifter260
2005-12-03 01:51 am UTC (link)
Easy answer: "No."

With that answer you have no problems from anyone. Me killing someone has no impact on their lives. So even if in Iraq I went and killed 50 Iraqis... what does that have to do with someone sitting on their ass here in America? Fuck em.

Trueman: I can't believe most people don't ask you that question. I've probably been asked well over 100 times. If you're ever asked you can always counter it with: "Why do you want to know?" I haven't found a person who was able to answer that yet.

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[info]roninspoon
2005-12-03 04:48 am UTC (link)
My usual answer is "What do you want me to say?" It's a real conversation killer.

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Thank you
(Anonymous)
2005-12-05 06:40 am UTC (link)
I have just read my first military blogs including yours. It really does help to inject some personalities into my understanding of what is going on. I am in So. California and am leading a pretty sterile life. I feel very isolated from those who are put in harms way everyday and as I'm sure alot of Americans are, am feeling a little bit guilty. I am not sure why I am writing except to tell you that what you have done is admirable and honorable. Im sure there is little that I can do beyond trying to be as informed as possible but If you would like guide me and others like me in any direction that would in some way help us contribute to the soldiers in Iraq It would be appreciated.

Take care

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Thanks for Sharing
(Anonymous)
2005-12-10 09:18 pm UTC (link)
Trueman,

Being a huge fan of This American Life, I recently had the opportunity to hear your and a few other soldiers' blogs. Thank you so much for articulating your experiences ~ your painful loss and the emotions you've been working through as a result of those losses ~ to those of us who have gone about our routine lives for the past few years. I teach at a Ft. Bragg school and have seen many fathers and a few mothers deploy. All have returned to date, though some have members in their units who have not. For one of my student's, the road her father's company was assigned to patrol made the difference in his safe return. My husband, a retired SF guy, who has also become a TAL fan, was also listening the day you read. He was also very moved by the sharing of your experience. Keep looking to the future while you reflect on your past. Best to you! CJ

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Hope all is well.
[info]notadreamdate
2005-12-15 10:10 am UTC (link)
I sat next to a vet in German II this semester. I'm back in school for a change of careers and hes easily 5 years younger then me. It boggles my mind that someone who can't even drink has been to Iraq and home again. Though I don't know you I'm glad you've gotten there and back again. I know thats just the first step in a long process, but congrats. Take care.

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Admiration
[info]findbosco
2005-12-19 01:06 am UTC (link)
Was pointed to your site as I sat here getting my dose of 'This American Life' tonight. The program finished over an hour ago, and yet I'm still here reading about your experiences in Iraq. I feel like any words of admiration and appreciation I make are hollow - how can I in any way relate to a guy who risked his life for his country? But I make those thankful statements nonetheless. Thank you for being an admirable human being.

Not only that, but I enjoyed 'watching' you analyze various situations and put that into words. The honest, simple way you went about it made your posts even more interesting to read.

Best of luck in civilian life.

-Z

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I'm just another stranger who heard about you...
[info]incendiarypixie
2007-11-11 08:17 am UTC (link)
I wasn't going to comment or say anything on your blog after hearing you on This American Life (online)... but I figured I should at least ask before delving into your personal life and pretending that I know you from the entries you've posted over the past few years...

I guess the thing that really affected me about your story is how similar we seem. I'm from Chicago, I'm fairly close to your age, from your info it seems like we're interested in a lot of the same stuff. So, this slight connection really made your story hit home for me... learning about you and your experience and your perspective while you were over there is playing a part in how I'm coming to understand the world and everything that's messed up in it and how I can help fix it or make it better...

I came to the middle east on another sort of mission, as a study abroad student at the American University in Cairo. I hoped to learn Arabic and a little about the peoples and cultures that so disturb and mystify Americans. I wanted to help bridge the gap of understanding that seems so wide and impassable, as to totally forbid each side from seeing each other as human, or anything greater than some fuzzy abstract threat or figure. But guess I needed to learn a few lessons myself before I could go back home and start teaching people what I know. You helped me realize that the "US Military" is not some block of blue blooded, red state, love-it-or-leave-it men who don't give a damn about the people or nation of Iraq, a notion I've picked up I guess from all the pro-war folks I've encountered in my many protests against Bush and the war.

... so thanks, for helping me realize that, for helping me understand that there's good coming about from all that destruction. I don't really know what I'm saying, it's pretty late, and I apologize for babbling.

I friended you in hopes that you'd be able to continue broadening my horizons. If you want to friend me back, that'd be awesome. I hope you have a good life back home, that you do well in school, and you make the best of what your experience in Iraq has given you.

p.s. I originally posted this a while back, but had to delete it for some privacy reasons.

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