Saturday, June 28, 2003
Souris marine caused family some stress
June 28, 2003
By Thana Dharmarajah
Back in the comforts of his Souris home after serving five months in Iraq, Lance Cpl. William Slade Brandon is thinking about leaving behind his life as a marine.
"I don't think I want to put my family through that again," says the 22-year-old, who came home Monday night.
Brandon was the crew chief of an amphibious assault vehicle with the 2nd Expeditionary Force.
He left his base in the U.S. for Kuwait Feb.8, and was posted near An Nasiriyah in southern Iraq before the war started. As the war began, his unit's first mission was to secure the oil fields in various cities and push on to Baghdad.
"I don't think I could ever know what they were going through," says Brandon of his parents. "I hope I never have to. I can't imagine how hard it was for them while I was over there."
In early March, Brandon's parents were devastated to hear the news that eight marines from his division were missing in action.
Robert and Esther Brandon spent months watching CNN, Newsworld and scouring the newspapers to find tidbits of information about her son's division.
"We were under a lot of stress," says Robert. "We were worried a lot."
"As parents, to have a son or daughter in the military, you know what the job is, but it doesn't take the worry away."
The former Canadian Forces reservist, who has dual citizenship, joined the U.S. Marines in the fall of 2000.
He plans on leaving the U.S. marines next September and pursuing further education.
However, his experience in Iraq has opened his eyes to another world.
Back in Canada, he realizes the many advantages the Western world has.
"We have so much more than those people," says Brandon. "I'm hoping what we did over there is going to make life better for the Iraqi people."
He says many of the Iraqis appreciated the U.S. presence, as he talks about one man and his son, who would visit them each day to offer them pita bread, goat's milk yogurt and tea.
Looking back, Brandon also remembers moments he was scared stiff for his life.
He thinks back to "tank night." A severe dust storm was blowing through An Nasiriyah, and their unit heard an Iraqi armoured unit was 130 miles north of their location, heading towards them.
Brandon's unit headed north and set up their defence. Soon after, they saw the Iraqi convoy moving in front of them about seven kilometres away.
"We started hitting them with arty," he says, but they couldn't see well.
As the dust storm grew severe, they had to stop.
"You couldn't see anything. You couldn't see the hands in front of your face."
The other marines were yelling at each other over the radios, and Brandon passed out in the back of the vehicle from sheer exhaustion.
"I had said my goodbyes," he says.
But, the dust storm managed to save their unit because the Iraqi convoy could no longer spot them.
Although, Brandon is leaving behind marine life, he says enlisting in the U.S. marines had always been his dream.
"I wanted to be part of what I thought was the best," he says, pointing out through his research he learnt the U.S. marines had the highest standards and the best training.
Since he was four, Brandon grew up playing with G.I. Joes and toy guns.
But, heading off to war is another story.
"Being a kid and playing with toy guns, it wasn't the same thing."
thana@brandonsun.com
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June 28, 2003
By Thana Dharmarajah
Back in the comforts of his Souris home after serving five months in Iraq, Lance Cpl. William Slade Brandon is thinking about leaving behind his life as a marine.
"I don't think I want to put my family through that again," says the 22-year-old, who came home Monday night.
Brandon was the crew chief of an amphibious assault vehicle with the 2nd Expeditionary Force.
He left his base in the U.S. for Kuwait Feb.8, and was posted near An Nasiriyah in southern Iraq before the war started. As the war began, his unit's first mission was to secure the oil fields in various cities and push on to Baghdad.
"I don't think I could ever know what they were going through," says Brandon of his parents. "I hope I never have to. I can't imagine how hard it was for them while I was over there."
In early March, Brandon's parents were devastated to hear the news that eight marines from his division were missing in action.
Robert and Esther Brandon spent months watching CNN, Newsworld and scouring the newspapers to find tidbits of information about her son's division.
"We were under a lot of stress," says Robert. "We were worried a lot."
"As parents, to have a son or daughter in the military, you know what the job is, but it doesn't take the worry away."
The former Canadian Forces reservist, who has dual citizenship, joined the U.S. Marines in the fall of 2000.
He plans on leaving the U.S. marines next September and pursuing further education.
However, his experience in Iraq has opened his eyes to another world.
Back in Canada, he realizes the many advantages the Western world has.
"We have so much more than those people," says Brandon. "I'm hoping what we did over there is going to make life better for the Iraqi people."
He says many of the Iraqis appreciated the U.S. presence, as he talks about one man and his son, who would visit them each day to offer them pita bread, goat's milk yogurt and tea.
Looking back, Brandon also remembers moments he was scared stiff for his life.
He thinks back to "tank night." A severe dust storm was blowing through An Nasiriyah, and their unit heard an Iraqi armoured unit was 130 miles north of their location, heading towards them.
Brandon's unit headed north and set up their defence. Soon after, they saw the Iraqi convoy moving in front of them about seven kilometres away.
"We started hitting them with arty," he says, but they couldn't see well.
As the dust storm grew severe, they had to stop.
"You couldn't see anything. You couldn't see the hands in front of your face."
The other marines were yelling at each other over the radios, and Brandon passed out in the back of the vehicle from sheer exhaustion.
"I had said my goodbyes," he says.
But, the dust storm managed to save their unit because the Iraqi convoy could no longer spot them.
Although, Brandon is leaving behind marine life, he says enlisting in the U.S. marines had always been his dream.
"I wanted to be part of what I thought was the best," he says, pointing out through his research he learnt the U.S. marines had the highest standards and the best training.
Since he was four, Brandon grew up playing with G.I. Joes and toy guns.
But, heading off to war is another story.
"Being a kid and playing with toy guns, it wasn't the same thing."
thana@brandonsun.com
