thedrifter
05-23-09, 12:21 PM
Young vets face abrupt transition
By Giles Morris
Daily News Staff
Young veterans don’t have much time to reflect on their experience in war. They are busy getting on with their lives. For Kelley Keating and Travis Eckhardt, Memorial Day can trigger a rush of memories that wash over them in waves of pride and sadness. They remember the soldiers they served with, some of whom are still deployed, and they remember themselves as soldiers.
Keating, a Three Lakes High School grad who served in Iraq as a light wheel mechanic with the 724th Engineering Battalion of Rhinelander and Tomahawk between March 2003 and March 2004, went from her military career right into life as a single mom in the Northwoods. She will graduate from Nicolet College with an associate’s degree in criminal justice and from North Central Technical College’s police academy next week.
Like many veterans of the Iraq war, Keating entered the military for a complex of reasons.
On the one hand she wanted to earn money for school and on the other she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather.
“I’m a very adventurous person. With school and the money situation, I hated to see my mother struggling to pay and I had a couple of friends who had just come back from basic training, so I decided to sign up,” Keating said.
Keating spent six months in basic training in South Carolina before her deployment in Iraq.
“It was hard leaving. I was scared. I figured if I’m getting deployed, I better go somewhere good,” Keating said.
Keating said Iraq had a mysterious draw for her, because her family is Lebanese and she has some Iraqi ancestry.
“It was like part of my culture in a way and I was excited to see how they lived, how they do things and what we were doing over there,” Keating said.
Keating’s time in Iraq was a typical one in many ways. She remembers the heat, the monotony, the discomfort, the C-Rats and MREs, and the fear of roadside bombs.
“I’ve actually been diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). When I got home I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t drive anywhere,” Keating said.
“This generation is a lot different compared to Vietnam. I think it’s easier. Even now when we see each other, it’s exciting. We laugh about the good times and we talk about the scary times,” Keating said.
“I’ll be sad. I’ll have a lot of memories going through my head just seeing that flag. The hardest part for my son is that his father and I were together in Iraq,” Keating said. “It’s hard because when I think about it I get depressed and I don’t want to have a sad day. It’s a mixed-emotional day.”
“It was pretty much day in and day out and everyday was so different between good and bad. It was a the good group of people that kept you going,” said Keating. “If I didn’t have a three-year-old I probably would have gone back, because the money’s good. I hate to say it. It’s a battlefield.”
Keating said the updated G.I. Bill passed by Congress in 2007 has made a big difference for her, giving her the opportunity to get back in school and create a career path for herself.
Travis Eckhardt wanted to be a warrior when he signed up to be a marine at the age of 17, fresh off his graduation from Rhinelander High School. Eckhardt had seen 9/11 during his freshman year in high school and burned to join the war, to get involved in the fight.
As a lance corporal in the First Marine Regiment based in Camp Pendleton, Eckhardt got his wish. The marines turned Eckhardt into a heavy machine gunner. He spent his time in Iraq going on patrols, setting up fire positions, getting out of ambushes.
Eckhardt was so young when he deployed, he said he wondered what he had gotten himself into. But he was quickly absorbed into the fraternity of the Marine Corps, bonding with the other country boys so much so that he now talks with a Southern accent.
Eckhardt lost his hearing in one ear, blew out his knees and got a serious infection in his foot. But he also came home with PTSD, something he does not get disability for. Eckhardt said when he first came home he was easily startled, easily angered, slow to trust.
Now 23, Eckhardt has been out of the Marine Corps since March and he is still trying to figure out what to do next. He intends to go to Nicolet College to pursue a criminal justice degree.
Eckhardt is extremely proud of his time serving the country, but he admits that his experience has created a divide in his life. He is not the same person as the one who left. He has trouble relating to the friends who were left behind, to young people in general. He spends most of his time with his family.
Eckhardt and Keating are young veterans, each with their own individual experience. What they share with each other and with other young veterans is the challenge of going to war and coming back to a fast-paced world with few guarantees of employment and no clearly defined path for building a happy civilian life.
When the flags wave on Monday in honor of our nation’s war dead, remember also all of the soldiers who experienced little deaths to preserve our freedom and protect our country.
Ellie
By Giles Morris
Daily News Staff
Young veterans don’t have much time to reflect on their experience in war. They are busy getting on with their lives. For Kelley Keating and Travis Eckhardt, Memorial Day can trigger a rush of memories that wash over them in waves of pride and sadness. They remember the soldiers they served with, some of whom are still deployed, and they remember themselves as soldiers.
Keating, a Three Lakes High School grad who served in Iraq as a light wheel mechanic with the 724th Engineering Battalion of Rhinelander and Tomahawk between March 2003 and March 2004, went from her military career right into life as a single mom in the Northwoods. She will graduate from Nicolet College with an associate’s degree in criminal justice and from North Central Technical College’s police academy next week.
Like many veterans of the Iraq war, Keating entered the military for a complex of reasons.
On the one hand she wanted to earn money for school and on the other she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather.
“I’m a very adventurous person. With school and the money situation, I hated to see my mother struggling to pay and I had a couple of friends who had just come back from basic training, so I decided to sign up,” Keating said.
Keating spent six months in basic training in South Carolina before her deployment in Iraq.
“It was hard leaving. I was scared. I figured if I’m getting deployed, I better go somewhere good,” Keating said.
Keating said Iraq had a mysterious draw for her, because her family is Lebanese and she has some Iraqi ancestry.
“It was like part of my culture in a way and I was excited to see how they lived, how they do things and what we were doing over there,” Keating said.
Keating’s time in Iraq was a typical one in many ways. She remembers the heat, the monotony, the discomfort, the C-Rats and MREs, and the fear of roadside bombs.
“I’ve actually been diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). When I got home I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t drive anywhere,” Keating said.
“This generation is a lot different compared to Vietnam. I think it’s easier. Even now when we see each other, it’s exciting. We laugh about the good times and we talk about the scary times,” Keating said.
“I’ll be sad. I’ll have a lot of memories going through my head just seeing that flag. The hardest part for my son is that his father and I were together in Iraq,” Keating said. “It’s hard because when I think about it I get depressed and I don’t want to have a sad day. It’s a mixed-emotional day.”
“It was pretty much day in and day out and everyday was so different between good and bad. It was a the good group of people that kept you going,” said Keating. “If I didn’t have a three-year-old I probably would have gone back, because the money’s good. I hate to say it. It’s a battlefield.”
Keating said the updated G.I. Bill passed by Congress in 2007 has made a big difference for her, giving her the opportunity to get back in school and create a career path for herself.
Travis Eckhardt wanted to be a warrior when he signed up to be a marine at the age of 17, fresh off his graduation from Rhinelander High School. Eckhardt had seen 9/11 during his freshman year in high school and burned to join the war, to get involved in the fight.
As a lance corporal in the First Marine Regiment based in Camp Pendleton, Eckhardt got his wish. The marines turned Eckhardt into a heavy machine gunner. He spent his time in Iraq going on patrols, setting up fire positions, getting out of ambushes.
Eckhardt was so young when he deployed, he said he wondered what he had gotten himself into. But he was quickly absorbed into the fraternity of the Marine Corps, bonding with the other country boys so much so that he now talks with a Southern accent.
Eckhardt lost his hearing in one ear, blew out his knees and got a serious infection in his foot. But he also came home with PTSD, something he does not get disability for. Eckhardt said when he first came home he was easily startled, easily angered, slow to trust.
Now 23, Eckhardt has been out of the Marine Corps since March and he is still trying to figure out what to do next. He intends to go to Nicolet College to pursue a criminal justice degree.
Eckhardt is extremely proud of his time serving the country, but he admits that his experience has created a divide in his life. He is not the same person as the one who left. He has trouble relating to the friends who were left behind, to young people in general. He spends most of his time with his family.
Eckhardt and Keating are young veterans, each with their own individual experience. What they share with each other and with other young veterans is the challenge of going to war and coming back to a fast-paced world with few guarantees of employment and no clearly defined path for building a happy civilian life.
When the flags wave on Monday in honor of our nation’s war dead, remember also all of the soldiers who experienced little deaths to preserve our freedom and protect our country.
Ellie