Archives » Tuesday, November 06, 2007
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David Botti
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Nov 6, 2007 10:29 AM
A West Point
graduate and two-tour Iraq veteran, Matt Mabe recently returned to the
military academy for his fifth-year reunion. He left the Army as a
Captain, and served as a combat engineer during his Iraq deployments.
Matt and I are classmates in graduate school, and I recently
interviewed him about his emotional return to West Point. Excerpts:
S.H.:
You served two tours in Iraq since graduating from West Point. What
was it like to return to your alma mater as a combat veteran?
Matt Mabe:
It’s funny. When I was a cadet, I would look at graduates returning for
their reunions as people who had triumphed in life. Some still wore the
uniform. Others had left the Army to pursue careers in civilian life.
They all carried an air of accomplishment. They all seemed to have won
the lottery of life.
I always fantasized about returning one day
as one of those content, successful, confident graduates I admired. And
when I finally did make it back, I guess I played the part.
It
was Homecoming weekend. There was a tour and a parade. There were
barbecues and a football game. There were thousands of cadets enjoying
one day of respite in a punishing four-year experience. It was novel
and pleasant.
But, deep down, I felt empty. I began to think
about those of my classmates who could not be there to share the
experience with those of us who could.
I thought of Todd Bryant,
who was killed by a roadside bomb outside Fallujah on Halloween Day
2003 after only a few weeks on the ground. He had been married for two
months.
I thought of Jim Gurbisz, who suffered the same fate in Baghdad in November 2005. He was honored with a burial in Arlington National Cemetery.
I thought of Drew Jensen,
who was shot in the neck by a sniper in Baqubah in May, paralyzing him
from the neck down. He had been trying to save one of his soldiers who
was pinned behind a Humvee after a bomb explosion. Last month, Drew
asked his wife and mother to take him off life support. Before having
his final wish granted, he donated $10,000 to Walter Reed Army Medical
Center to establish a fund to help families cover expenses while
visiting their wounded loved ones.
I thought about the values
that the academy imbued in all of us over four grueling years. Things
like Loyalty, Selfless Service, Honor.
I felt proud to have once
walked the same halls as these men. It comforted me to think that their
souls will always dwell among those hallowed grounds.
I am
haunted by the sacrifices that thousands of Americans like them have
made. The faces of the cadets I saw at my reunion reminded me of the
innocence they will soon lose when they, too, are thrown against the
guns.
And my heart broke for my country.
What are your last memories of West Point as a cadet?
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