Between two worlds

To most students, Memorial Day weekend means one thing: vacation. Most head out of town looking for sun and don’t think twice about the reason behind the long weekend.

But for senior Jerry Jensen, who served from 2004-2005 as an infantry team leader in Iraq, the holiday means much more.

Jensen was assigned to Northern Mosul, Iraq, where he and his unit patrolled cities for enemy activity.

“We were busy trying to restore life to the Iraqi folks,” he said. “The goal was to keep enemy activity to a minimum so their life was as normal as possible.”

As they lived among the Iraqi people, the soldiers formed relationships with those they protected.

“We hung out with them all the time,” he said. “You get to know the kids and the people. It taught me that we’ve got to be thankful for the United States. There are some simple things they have to put up with that we wouldn’t imagine.”

The country held its first elections during Jensen’s tour in Iraq.

“The anticipation of that was huge,” Jensen said. “The entire tour, it seemed like we were really making a difference. I honestly always felt there was a purpose for us to be there and we were working toward that.”

He felt strongly during his tour that he and his unit were making a difference in Iraq, but now, a few years later, he said he can’t speak to whether the U.S. presence is still warranted.

“I feel out of touch with what’s going on over there because so much has changed,” he said.

Jensen said his experience in Iraq was far removed from war scenes portrayed on television.

“When I was deployed, I would talk with my family and friends and tell them what was going on, and [they] were like, ‘Wow, we don’t hear any of this,’” he said. “When I got back, it was back to the negative news stories that we hear.”

Reflecting on the war, Jensen hopes to see the situation in Iraq move forward and that conflicting Iraqi groups can begin to work toward a solution.

“The power is with the Iraqis to make the difference,” he said. “When they work together, they have the ability to control what’s going on. If they would decide that they want to go one direction and have a free country, they would.”

Serving his country

It wasn’t until Sept. 11, 2001 that sophomore Danny Lee had any plan to join the military. But as soon as he joined the Army, he knew he would be going to Iraq. His father served in the Korean military, and though he was prepared to serve his country if need be, the thought was only in the back of his mind. Lee enlisted after the World Trade Center attacks, feeling a need to support the United States in a time of war.

“It opened my eyes a little bit,” Lee said. “It instilled in me a sense of purpose to do something.”

The event changed Lee’s career forever. He received his deployment orders during spring of his freshman year, and took leave from school to go to Iraq. He was sent as a combat engineer, but ended up working as a driver.

“I joined knowing that going overseas was inevitable,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is what I joined for,’ and I have no regrets.”

Lee returned from his tour in Iraq in October, so this will be his first Memorial Day as a veteran of the war. For Lee, the upcoming holiday is a time to remember colleagues who were lost in the war.

“We lost six guys from our unit who went over, and they were mostly college students,” he said. “It makes me think that that could have just as easily been me. It could have just been me gone and them going to college.”

Lee returned from Iraq in October 2007 and picked up where he left off in his course work. But being back in the United States and back at the UW hasn’t dulled Lee’s memories of the war.

“I really wanted to get into the worst-case scenarios,” he said. “I had that mentality of being the soldier and going into battle. Driving is not the most glorious job. You don’t really want to tell your grandkids about driving on roads. But once I got home, I thought, ‘A lot of people haven’t been through this.’ I felt more proud of what I did. Once I came back, I felt an emptiness. College is good and well, but being over there I felt like I was doing some more.”

Heading for war

Unlike Lee, senior Charles Idle joined the Army in 1999 hoping to get out and see the world. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was scheduled to be in the Pentagon as part of an Army program when the World Trade Center was attacked.

“My initial mindset was, ‘I’m probably heading for war,’” he said. “I felt the Army had trained me enough that I should probably do my job during a wartime scenario.”

Idle reenlisted in the Army in order to serve in Iraq and was deployed in October 2004. He served in the transportation core, operating support missions and convoys.

“When I got there, I didn’t know exactly what to expect,” he said. “My expectation was that I would be trying to help out as much as I could. I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, but I knew that when I signed up for the Army. You’re defending freedom.”

Like Jensen, Idle felt his unit was making a tangible difference.

“When we first got there, there were mortars that hit daily,” he said. “When we left, there was very little of that. There was a change in the actual big picture.”

Celebration and remembrance

To these students, Memorial Day means more than just sun and barbecues. To them, it’s the memory of colleagues and friends, the reminder of war and the chance to reevaluate what it means to be a soldier.

“It’s one of those things you can’t stop thinking about,” Jensen said. “It never becomes more important one day than the next.”

The holiday is also a time the soldiers expect to hear negative opinions about the war, but, ultimately, free speech is just one of the rights they’re fighting for.

“Not everybody supports the war, and they have the right to say what they want to say,” Idle said. “Whether or not you support the war, you should care about the people who are there to support the country.”

Lee believes even those who disagree with the war respect soldiers.

“I’m comfortable walking on the street in my uniform. I just figure it’s my job and my choice,” he said.

As Memorial Day nears, Jensen’s feelings are mixed. He knows that some who oppose the war might see the day as a time to voice protest, and he respects that. But supporting the troops and supporting the war go hand-in-hand, he said.

“In my opinion, the attitude of supporting and being for the troops but not for the war is misguided,” he said. “The best way to support the troops is to support the U.S. government in resolving the war. As a soldier, I feel the American public isn’t supportive of soldiers when it isn’t supportive of the American government doing what it needs to do to resolve the conflict.”

Jensen said people should become more active in solving the problem instead of complaining about the war.

“If you want to complain about the war, the president, the military — OK, you have a right to do that,” he said. “But help us come up with some solutions about what we should do moving forward.”

People can honor soldiers by taking advantage of the rights the soldiers are fighting to give them, Jensen said.

“You have more opportunities than anyone else in the entire world,” he said. “There’re a lot of good men and women who died to make that possible. You can honor them by living a good life and taking advantage of the situation you’ve been provided. Don’t take anything for granted.”

For Idle, being honored simply means being thanked.

“It’s that idea that you’re being appreciated other than your mom saying, ‘You’re doing a great job,’” Idle said. “When a stranger says ‘thank you,’ it’s very meaningful. If you have the opportunity and see someone in uniform, take a moment and appreciate them.”