thedrifter
10-14-05, 04:44 AM
Loganville native proud to serve third tour in Iraq
2nd Force Service Support Group
Story by Sgt. Josh H. Hauser
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 14, 2005) -- Some people go their whole life wondering if they ever made a difference. Marines don’t have that problem. –Ronald Regan, 40th President of the United States of America.
One Marine who says he will never have that problem is Cpl. David P. Dees of Loganville, Ga. Dees is a motor transportation operator assigned to Transportation Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Force Service Support Group (Forward), here.
At 22 years of age, Dees has just begun his third tour in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His first stint to historic Mesopotamia began in the early months of 2004. His unit at the time was staged in Kuwait awaiting orders for its next movement. After a month, word finally came. The unit then began what would be a three-day journey from Iraq’s southern neighbor into the heart of the Sunni Triangle. His unit was headed to Camp Taqaddum in the country’s Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. Taqaddum was to be his unit’s base of operations for the length of his tour.
Dees’ task during the convoy was to man the Browning M2 .50 caliber machinegun mounted atop his seven-ton truck and act as a scout and first responder to anyone or anything which might attempt to disrupt or harm the Marines en route. Dees recalls in vivid detail the moment they crossed the border into war-torn Iraq.
“I remember the exact spot where we crossed the border,” Dees said. “I was scared, nervous, excited, anxious… you name it.”
His perch offered him a view of some of the country’s best and worst sights. Traveling from southern Iraq north, Dees remembers the pictures of Iraq he had never imagined. Surrounding the Euphrates River is an oasis of dense green palms and plant-life.
“As we went through towns and villages we got to see the ‘jungle side’ of Iraq,” he said. “I didn’t know there were areas like that here. I always thought it was just sand and desert.”
Along with Iraq’s beauty, Dees unit also encountered the realities of war as the convoy encountered sporadic firefights and improvised explosive device attacks, events that Dees would continue to encounter occasionally during his time in Iraq.
“During my first tour we would get in firefights or get mortared here and there. Not nearly as [much] as the infantry, but enough to keep you on your toes,” he said.
Dees returned to Iraq a second time in February of this year. This time around Dees would be stationed out of Camp Fallujah, a Marine Corps base located west of Baghdad in the middle of Iraq’s second-most populated city. After seven months in country he was extended for a third tour.
Dees has celebrated two birthdays throughout his tours in Iraq. Neither of which he’ll forget anytime soon, but his 21st is sure to be his most memorable. Dees was in Ramadi at the time and the base was in lockdown conditions – all personnel were manning there weapons as rumors of an attack circulated with uncertainty. Thankfully, the threat past and afterward Dees recalls his friends taking him to the exchange and treating him to birthday celebration of non-alcoholic beer. Service members in the region are prohibited from consuming alcohol under U.S. Central Command rules and regulations.
Between convoys, which can last anywhere between a few hours or a few days, Dees tells how he and his fellow brothers-in-arms pass the time and keep their spirits up.
“We’ll tell each other stories about home, talk about girls, high school memories and usually more girls,” Dees joked. “A big topic is usually what you’re going to do when you get out of the Marine Corps or if you’re staying in.”
Dees admits that reenlisting is a topic he still hasn’t decided on, however, he feels strongly about the service and commitment he and other Marines have demonstrated here.
“I wouldn’t trade the honor for anything. There are a lot of people willing to sacrifice their lives for their country and a lot of people who just aren’t. You have people wanting handouts and not willing to sacrifice for it,” Dees said matter-of-factly. “This generation seems a lot different than those past. You hear stories from the world wars and Korea where guys were dying to enlist, nowadays there are [people] who don’t want to join or do anything.”
The Loganville native stresses the brotherhood, camaraderie and dedication of the men and women in uniform. As he points to a group of fellow Marines joking with each other, he says, “You see those guys over there? They just met two weeks ago. They’re all from different places and they’re acting like they’ve known each other their entire lives. Our people from rich, poor, city and country, but they all believe in doing some good.”
One of those willing which Dees mentions was a longtime friend, Mike Stokley, who was killed just a few months ago in Baghdad after an IED attack. The two had known each other since grade school and had also played football together during their high school years. The two were both slated to return home in February 2006.
“Whenever I would convoy over to Baghdad I would try to find him but we never got a chance to meet up over here,” Dees said. “I talked to him over e-mail the weekend before he died. We were going to get together with each other when we got back home.”
Dees’ support network stretches back to the red clay of Georgia where his father, David Dees, mother, Susan Wyman, and brother, Jason, 21, and sister, Jayne, 15 anxiously await his return. His mother and siblings live in Snellville.
“They’re ready for me to come home,” Dees said, “They’re scared but they love the Marine Corps and the military and understand why I’m here and how I feel.”
Dees also spoke of his girlfriend, Rachel Terry, who has stood by him throughout his military career. They met right after high school and have endured separation through boot camp, training and Dees’ multiple deployments.
“She’s stood by me through all of this,” he said. “All together, I’ve got 16 months in this place and when all’s said and done I’ll have 21 here. I think it bothers her the most, but distance definitely makes the heart grow fonder.”
Dees now faces another round of elections in Iraq. He was here when the people of Iraq spoke out against the insurgency and raised their ink-stained fingers in the air for the first time in history in favor of freedom and democracy and looks forward to seeing those images again.
As he runs a hand across his head under the blazing Iraqi sun, he states that he not only fights for Iraq’s future, as his friend Mike did, but believes in it as well and looks forward to the day when the country he has helped free can stand on it’s own.
“One day when this country is a better place I can look back and know I busted my ass helping to make that happen,” he said.
For more information regarding the service members or events covered in the story, contact the 2nd Force Service Support Group (Forward) Public Affairs Office via e-mail at cssemnfpao@cssemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil
Ellie
2nd Force Service Support Group
Story by Sgt. Josh H. Hauser
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 14, 2005) -- Some people go their whole life wondering if they ever made a difference. Marines don’t have that problem. –Ronald Regan, 40th President of the United States of America.
One Marine who says he will never have that problem is Cpl. David P. Dees of Loganville, Ga. Dees is a motor transportation operator assigned to Transportation Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Force Service Support Group (Forward), here.
At 22 years of age, Dees has just begun his third tour in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His first stint to historic Mesopotamia began in the early months of 2004. His unit at the time was staged in Kuwait awaiting orders for its next movement. After a month, word finally came. The unit then began what would be a three-day journey from Iraq’s southern neighbor into the heart of the Sunni Triangle. His unit was headed to Camp Taqaddum in the country’s Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. Taqaddum was to be his unit’s base of operations for the length of his tour.
Dees’ task during the convoy was to man the Browning M2 .50 caliber machinegun mounted atop his seven-ton truck and act as a scout and first responder to anyone or anything which might attempt to disrupt or harm the Marines en route. Dees recalls in vivid detail the moment they crossed the border into war-torn Iraq.
“I remember the exact spot where we crossed the border,” Dees said. “I was scared, nervous, excited, anxious… you name it.”
His perch offered him a view of some of the country’s best and worst sights. Traveling from southern Iraq north, Dees remembers the pictures of Iraq he had never imagined. Surrounding the Euphrates River is an oasis of dense green palms and plant-life.
“As we went through towns and villages we got to see the ‘jungle side’ of Iraq,” he said. “I didn’t know there were areas like that here. I always thought it was just sand and desert.”
Along with Iraq’s beauty, Dees unit also encountered the realities of war as the convoy encountered sporadic firefights and improvised explosive device attacks, events that Dees would continue to encounter occasionally during his time in Iraq.
“During my first tour we would get in firefights or get mortared here and there. Not nearly as [much] as the infantry, but enough to keep you on your toes,” he said.
Dees returned to Iraq a second time in February of this year. This time around Dees would be stationed out of Camp Fallujah, a Marine Corps base located west of Baghdad in the middle of Iraq’s second-most populated city. After seven months in country he was extended for a third tour.
Dees has celebrated two birthdays throughout his tours in Iraq. Neither of which he’ll forget anytime soon, but his 21st is sure to be his most memorable. Dees was in Ramadi at the time and the base was in lockdown conditions – all personnel were manning there weapons as rumors of an attack circulated with uncertainty. Thankfully, the threat past and afterward Dees recalls his friends taking him to the exchange and treating him to birthday celebration of non-alcoholic beer. Service members in the region are prohibited from consuming alcohol under U.S. Central Command rules and regulations.
Between convoys, which can last anywhere between a few hours or a few days, Dees tells how he and his fellow brothers-in-arms pass the time and keep their spirits up.
“We’ll tell each other stories about home, talk about girls, high school memories and usually more girls,” Dees joked. “A big topic is usually what you’re going to do when you get out of the Marine Corps or if you’re staying in.”
Dees admits that reenlisting is a topic he still hasn’t decided on, however, he feels strongly about the service and commitment he and other Marines have demonstrated here.
“I wouldn’t trade the honor for anything. There are a lot of people willing to sacrifice their lives for their country and a lot of people who just aren’t. You have people wanting handouts and not willing to sacrifice for it,” Dees said matter-of-factly. “This generation seems a lot different than those past. You hear stories from the world wars and Korea where guys were dying to enlist, nowadays there are [people] who don’t want to join or do anything.”
The Loganville native stresses the brotherhood, camaraderie and dedication of the men and women in uniform. As he points to a group of fellow Marines joking with each other, he says, “You see those guys over there? They just met two weeks ago. They’re all from different places and they’re acting like they’ve known each other their entire lives. Our people from rich, poor, city and country, but they all believe in doing some good.”
One of those willing which Dees mentions was a longtime friend, Mike Stokley, who was killed just a few months ago in Baghdad after an IED attack. The two had known each other since grade school and had also played football together during their high school years. The two were both slated to return home in February 2006.
“Whenever I would convoy over to Baghdad I would try to find him but we never got a chance to meet up over here,” Dees said. “I talked to him over e-mail the weekend before he died. We were going to get together with each other when we got back home.”
Dees’ support network stretches back to the red clay of Georgia where his father, David Dees, mother, Susan Wyman, and brother, Jason, 21, and sister, Jayne, 15 anxiously await his return. His mother and siblings live in Snellville.
“They’re ready for me to come home,” Dees said, “They’re scared but they love the Marine Corps and the military and understand why I’m here and how I feel.”
Dees also spoke of his girlfriend, Rachel Terry, who has stood by him throughout his military career. They met right after high school and have endured separation through boot camp, training and Dees’ multiple deployments.
“She’s stood by me through all of this,” he said. “All together, I’ve got 16 months in this place and when all’s said and done I’ll have 21 here. I think it bothers her the most, but distance definitely makes the heart grow fonder.”
Dees now faces another round of elections in Iraq. He was here when the people of Iraq spoke out against the insurgency and raised their ink-stained fingers in the air for the first time in history in favor of freedom and democracy and looks forward to seeing those images again.
As he runs a hand across his head under the blazing Iraqi sun, he states that he not only fights for Iraq’s future, as his friend Mike did, but believes in it as well and looks forward to the day when the country he has helped free can stand on it’s own.
“One day when this country is a better place I can look back and know I busted my ass helping to make that happen,” he said.
For more information regarding the service members or events covered in the story, contact the 2nd Force Service Support Group (Forward) Public Affairs Office via e-mail at cssemnfpao@cssemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil
Ellie