I was in Marine Corps boot camp in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. As a split option reservist, I was not on the battle roster when I joined my unit in October 1990 and the roster names were read out. I remember being dejected and a sergeant asked me: “You plan on staying in 20 years, right?” I told him yes I did. “Don’t worry young Marine,” he said. “You will get your chance to go to war some day before you retire.”
That advise didn’t help me at the time. My Stinger Missile battery came back from the Persian Gulf a year later, and every one of them was loaded with a salad bowl of awards. Rumor had it even the Saudi Arabia medal awarded was plated with real gold.
After six years, I was out of the military without a book to write about the experience. Yet, in 2003, after the events of 9/11 and the impending invasion of Iraq, I joined the military again, eager to get my shot.
Be careful what you wish for. I served in Iraq 2005-2006 in US Army civil affairs in Southwest Baghdad. Seventeen years later, I am still serving. My grandfather died in action at Guadalcanal and my uncle was killed in South Vietnam. We serve, proudly.
I live in Los Angeles and was the commander of Highland Park American Legion Post #206 from 2004-2016, except for 2005-2006 when I was deployed to Iraq.
-David Bloom Los Angeles, California
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Author: caLegion Contributor
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