In 1997 Eli joined the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Army National Guard unit (nicknamed the "Ironman Battalion" because of its record 611 consecutive days in combat in Italy during World War II). He was just turning 18 years old. Eli completed basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. While there he was bitten by a brown recluse, a notoriously poisonous spider that injects necrotic venom into its victims. He thankfully was rushed to the ER in time and avoided the more serious effects of the venom.
Eli did his "one weekend a month and two weeks a year" drills until he was called up for active duty in 2003--right around the time we met. In May he was sent to Fort Carson, Colorado to train for deployment to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula as part of a peace-keeping mission. The deployment was the battalion's first activation in a combat role since World War II. While shooting off mortar rounds one day he ruptured a couple discs in his back and broke a piece of vertebrae from his spine. He was deemed non-deployable by the VA doctors and was sent home in July 2003. In October 2003 he underwent surgery to remove the piece of bone floating around in his spine and fuse the surrounding vertebrae together.
In February 2004 another deployment came up, this time to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Eli mentioned it to his friend, Kenny, and they decided to volunteer and go over together. I was heartbroken, and couldn't understand why he wanted to go when he didn't have to--and leave me behind. This is what makes a soldier stand out from others; the willful self-sacrifice and sense of duty they have to their brothers in arms and to their country is a pull that's almost unimaginable.
Kenny passed the physical and received his deployment papers; Eli did not. He was declared permanently non-deployable because of his back. This was a bitter pill for him to swallow, but I was rejoicing on the inside that he was stuck with me.
In late September-early November 2004, Kenny was manning a mortar gun on top of a Humvee that was part of a convoy heading toward Pakistan, when they were ambushed. Kenny's Humvee was hit by gunfire and an RPG, and the driver was killed. Kenny's left arm was severed at the elbow. The tragedy was a shock, and you could see the guilt in Eli's face for a long time after. After much rehab, Kenny was able to come home, and is doing well.
Eli remained with the National Guard for another two years, but without the option to deploy again, couldn't see the point in staying any longer. He was honorably discharged in May 2006, just two months before we were married.
Pictured left to right: Kenny, Joe (Eli's older brother), Eli, and Tim (Gavin's godfather)
To all those who serve or have served our country: thank you and God Bless!
No comments:
Post a Comment