thedrifter
11-14-08, 03:13 PM
November 14, 2008
Marine inspires audience to follow goals in life
Rudy Reyes talks about his time in the Middle East and his experiences filming the HBO miniseries 'Generation Kill'
By KELLY DAY
kday@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE -- Three-second news clips of fighting in Iraq will never show the realities of war that U.S. Marine Sergeant Rudy Reyes experienced.
Reyes found "kids in pieces" as he conducted a BDA to assess the damage to his target.
And Reyes hopes the Iraqi family that put their lives in jeopardy to let him use their water tower as a sniper stakeout is still safe.
"Three seconds is nothing," Reyes said to his audience in the Ball State University Student Center earlier this week. "Three seconds -- that's not going to show anything."
Reyes, 36, served three campaigns, one in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, as a Recon Marine. When he got out of the military three years ago, he went on to play himself in the HBO miniseries "Generation Kill" that is based on the book by Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright. Now, he's in the process of writing a book. And next week, he'll head to New York City to film the pilot of a new TV show.
Since he was a boy, Reyes has been fighting to survive. He and his brothers were put in foster care and then the Omaha Home for Boys. During that time, he joined boxing programs and lifted weights. He has also trained with leaders in mixed martial arts and became a world champion kick-boxer.
"I just kept fighting and eventually it got me somewhere," he said.
That training is what helped him succeed in the Recon Marines.
Eventually, fighting did become difficult for Reyes.
"I didn't lose my innocence until my last tour in Fallujah," he said. He was jaded by how "mechanized and departmentalized our war had become."
"I became disillusion to who the enemy was, the rules of engagement."
But he kept fighting because he had pride in his unit and pride in his mentors.
And Reyes believes in finishing everything he starts.
"Whatever you show up to do, follow it through," he told his audience, saying that he wouldn't have ever had the opportunities he's had in his life if he hadn't followed that motto.
To David Inman, a Ball State sophomore, Reyes' focus is inspiring.
"Everything he was able to accomplish had 100 percent focus," he said, adding that he wants to change the way he's living his life.
Inman said he came to college thinking he just wanted to make friends and party.
"Lately, that what I've been doing," he said. But he doesn't want to live that way anymore.
Contact news reporter Kelly Day at 213-5827
Ellie
Marine inspires audience to follow goals in life
Rudy Reyes talks about his time in the Middle East and his experiences filming the HBO miniseries 'Generation Kill'
By KELLY DAY
kday@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE -- Three-second news clips of fighting in Iraq will never show the realities of war that U.S. Marine Sergeant Rudy Reyes experienced.
Reyes found "kids in pieces" as he conducted a BDA to assess the damage to his target.
And Reyes hopes the Iraqi family that put their lives in jeopardy to let him use their water tower as a sniper stakeout is still safe.
"Three seconds is nothing," Reyes said to his audience in the Ball State University Student Center earlier this week. "Three seconds -- that's not going to show anything."
Reyes, 36, served three campaigns, one in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, as a Recon Marine. When he got out of the military three years ago, he went on to play himself in the HBO miniseries "Generation Kill" that is based on the book by Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright. Now, he's in the process of writing a book. And next week, he'll head to New York City to film the pilot of a new TV show.
Since he was a boy, Reyes has been fighting to survive. He and his brothers were put in foster care and then the Omaha Home for Boys. During that time, he joined boxing programs and lifted weights. He has also trained with leaders in mixed martial arts and became a world champion kick-boxer.
"I just kept fighting and eventually it got me somewhere," he said.
That training is what helped him succeed in the Recon Marines.
Eventually, fighting did become difficult for Reyes.
"I didn't lose my innocence until my last tour in Fallujah," he said. He was jaded by how "mechanized and departmentalized our war had become."
"I became disillusion to who the enemy was, the rules of engagement."
But he kept fighting because he had pride in his unit and pride in his mentors.
And Reyes believes in finishing everything he starts.
"Whatever you show up to do, follow it through," he told his audience, saying that he wouldn't have ever had the opportunities he's had in his life if he hadn't followed that motto.
To David Inman, a Ball State sophomore, Reyes' focus is inspiring.
"Everything he was able to accomplish had 100 percent focus," he said, adding that he wants to change the way he's living his life.
Inman said he came to college thinking he just wanted to make friends and party.
"Lately, that what I've been doing," he said. But he doesn't want to live that way anymore.
Contact news reporter Kelly Day at 213-5827
Ellie