And then came the U.S. Army. It was 1974, the economy was taking a dump, the Arab Oil Embargo had us all scrambling to manipulate our lives around high gas prices, my Dad insisted I not get myself tangled up in farming, I had just graduated from high school, the job prospects were abysmal, a friend from the band I was in, mentioned in "Second Job of Bob," joined the Army to work in media - I joined the Army. I told my girl friend some time after I had actually raised my hand and swore in. She was the girl friend on the lake whose dad I built an erosion wall for in "Fourth Job of Bob." Dave the assistant manager from "Third Job of Bob" coached me in the nuances of signing up to get the duty station locked in. He suggested I take on an extra year's commitment to lock in Germany as a duty station just in case "Nam" flared back up. The draft had ended only a year prior back in 1973.
The first plane ride I ever took was my ride to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. I had signed up to be an equipment operator in the Corps of Engineers. Leonard Wood for those of you that do not know is a big Engineer base. Red mud and rain - frozen ground in the morning, mud in the afternoon. Sargent Conway who trained us for our military driver's license said one day, "You men better learn that if you have your M-16 set on auto, you better have them pointed at what every you want to kill. A friend of mine is dead because he had his gun pointed at the ground and by the time he had it pointed at Charlie Cong the magazine clip was empty - he pulled the trigger and unloaded it in the mud, Ol' Charlie Cong killed him with one bullet." Sargent Conway was 22 years old.
Two German citizens were in my Basic Training unit. Hans and Boder. They wanted to become U.S. citizens and it was their scheme to use the Army as a vehicle to expedite that goal. I always figured they were mafia. Anyway, Boder was over weight. But, it was the end of the Vietnam Era and the Army had a poor PR image. Few were interested in joining. Poor old Boder could not even do two sit ups. On physical test day, we all held our collective breath as Boder languished at two sit ups. I believe 120 was the minimum to not get 'boloed' out of Basic. Ol' Sargent Conway looked around the room and asked in his raised musical voice, "Did any man here see this soldier do less than 120 sit ups?" There was silence. "Good, check this man off as passed Private," he said to his assistant.
I was sent on my way to Germany via Charleston, South Carolina. Being a country boy, time-zones had not entered into my knowledge base. I got a funny feeling at the airport snack bar. I decided maybe it was better to wait at the loading gate. Unbeknown to me, I had arrived at the gate as the plane was backing out. The attendant sighed, picked up the two-way radio, and ushered me down to the tarmac. A mobile stairway was produced, I was hustled up the stairs, and placed in a front seat - no first class. The whole cabin glowered at me - it seemed like 200 faces. I felt like a naughty kid made to sit in the front of the school bus. I felt relieved when I was able to transfer in New York to my over seas flight and get away from all the dirty looks - perceived or real.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Army Sgt. Warren S. Hansen, 36, of Clintonville. He was killed in the U.S. military's worst single loss of life since the Iraqi war began, 17 101st Airborne Division soldiers, including Hansen, died Saturday night November 15, 2003 when two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters collided in midair and crashed in the northern city of Mosul. Hansen became Wisconsin's sixth soldier to die in the current Iraq war. Sargent Hansen was assigned to the 9th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Warren worked in maintenance and handled inspections for the aviation unit in the 101st Airborne. Hansen was single and joined the military soon after high school. He was planning to return to his home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky by March, 2004.
3,406 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
25,378 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
72 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
102 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
