BACK FROM IRAQ

BY MILES HARWELL
Staff Writer

Matthew Craig, 19, wanted to be a U.S. Marine as soon as he graduated from McAteer High School in 2002. He even transferred high schools to participate in the ROTC program, which focused mainly on Naval studies, but which also taught him about the Marines.

"It was the path I wanted to take," said Craig, a first-semester City College student. He knew Marines and former Marines, and he knew that he too wanted to be a part of the "most elite force."

Just wanting to become a Marine was a big step for Craig, and this motivated him to take the next step, which was joining the Marine Corps. He began training shortly after his graduation.

Craig was surprised when he heard war broke out in Iraq. He knew there was a possibility of war, but said, "You don't know until you know."

Craig felt "pumped up" when in March 2003 he found out he would be going to war. This is what he had been training for.

Before arriving in Iraq, he spent a month in Kuwait, where he was stationed in a dry, dangerously hot desert. By the time he arrived in Iraq, the air became more humid, but the temperature remained high.

When his squad arrived in Iraq, the biggest shock to Craig was realizing they were actually there. It slowly began registered in his mind that he wasn't home anymore.

"This was no joke," Craig said.

Like most of his fellow Marines, Craig was juiced up and ready for battle. There weren't too many people willing to show fear on the outside, but on the inside, Craig said, it may have been a different story. Prior to leaving the States, the Marines were trained to be alert and to never drop their guard. Most of the troops in Craig's unit already knew each other. They were all soldiers from the Bay Area, except for two drivers from New York.

"We all got along pretty good," Craig recalls. "The fact that we were all from the Bay helped a lot."

His most violent experience in Iraq was the first time his squad was shot at by Iraqi militants. Craig and the troops in his unit were carrying their equipment and were not prepared for battle. The sandstorm going on around them didn't help matters, either. It left Craig's unit partially blinded and made it almost impossible to see who they were shooting at.

"Just being out there was violent in general," said Craig in describing the atmosphere of anxiety that characterized the early months of the war, forcing his unit to always be ready for combat.

Craig remembers witnessing two other soldiers being severely wounded when he was out walking patrol one day. He recalls the soldiers picking up explosives that had been used in battle. While doing this, one of the soldiers threw one of the explosives behind him and it blew up. The soldier who threw the explosive returned home for good. The other soldier, while injured from the accident, returned to the battlefield after receiving medical care.

Craig saw many Marines receiving medical care from Navy medics. He was reassured that medics are present, unlike in Vietnam, where there were fewer experienced medical staff in the field.

"They took care of what happened in the field," Craig said. "They're doing a good job."

The Iraqi people in the streets constantly asked Craig and his fellow troops about developing an Iraqi government. "The capturing of Saddam (Hussein) wasn't enough of a justification for the country," Craig said. He was glad when Hussein was captured, but he understands that the deposed dictator was not the only one contributing to the war in Iraq.

Craig remembered getting a generally positive response from the people in Iraq. He even got a kiss on the cheek from a man with a glass eye, who said to him, "Saddam killed my family." They clearly knew that Craig and the other troops were there to help.

"The kids in the streets were always smiling and were generally happy," Craig said. But he also got his share of dirty looks from Iraqis wearing gold chains who were obviously wealthier than the majority of people in Iraq.

When asked about the morale of U.S. soldiers currently in Iraq, Craig replied that "it's different now" than when he went from March to May 2003, when the war was just beginning.

"Our morale was high and we were mainly excited," Craig said. "War is not fun," but he and his unit survived by keeping their hopes high and remembering their training. Being in the war, however, was significantly different from training to be in one.

"It was a don't-want-to-mess-up mentality," he said.

Craig was homesick all the time while at war. He would send letters, but it would take nearly two months before his mail was delivered. He constantly thought of family and friends and felt great when he returned home and his unit received a homecoming party right on the airstrip when the plane landed.

When asked if he believes if President George W. Bush or presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry are committed to establishing democracy in Iraq, Craig replied, "I believe so. Bush has put troops over there, and Kerry is doing what he can."

When offered the opportunity to volunteer again, Craig turned it down. He says he is not likely to be called again, but understands that these days "you never know." He hasn't received too much negative feedback for telling people he is a Marine, but doesn't appreciate when people ask how many people he killed.

Ultimately, Craig is glad that he became a Marine. "The Marines have made me a better person," he said. After witnessing a different way of life in Iraq, he says that the Marines have opened his eyes. He now sees more meaning in life and knows not to take anything for granted.