The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/owner
After nine months of fighting the war in Iraq, Staff Sgt. Gary Jackson has returned home to La Harpe in time for the family Thanksgiving feast.
Jackson was among the first group of soldiers to return to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky since the deployment of troops the first of the year.
He was among soldiers who had served overseas in Korea for one year prior to their deployment to Iraq, which gave them an early trip home.
As Jackson talked of his thirteen years in the military at his home Thanksgiving week, he took a deep breath asking, "Where has the time gone?"
He had always planned on making the military his career, he said, and after his La Harpe High School graduation in 1990, he signed up with the United States Army.
He was excited to be leaving La Harpe to experience a more exciting world than his small town could offer him. He never gave it a thought that he would ever miss home.
"I signed up in the middle of Desert Storm. I was tired of going to school," he said. "I didn't want to do college. I saw the Army as an opportunty to get out of La Harpe and to serve my country and I was excited to leave."
Jackson signed for 4 years, repeated another 4-year enlistment, then signed up for the maximum allowed - a six year stretch which gave him the advantage of a large sign-on bonus.
Now, he says, he never knew how good coming home would be.
"As we drove from Blandinsville around the curve and past the viaduct, I saw the lights of La Harpe and I got chills," Jackson said. "I never thought it would feel so good to be coming back home to La Harpe."
"I cruised the strip and saw all the flags down Main Street and the welcome home signs and it gave me more good chills. I drove through a couple of times just to look at them again."
"I have been hearing "Glad you're home' from everyone."
In looking back over his thirteen years, Gary said it began with basic soldier training at boot camp at Ft. Sill, OK
"You learn to march, shoot, basic first aid, and A.I.T. (advanced individual training). That's where you learn your job."
He explained how your high school ASVAB scores given by the military determines the list of jobs you qualify for. It's a test similar to ACTs but tests you on your mechanical skills as well.
Gary qualified for "Field Artillery and was trained six weeks to shoot the big guns.
He was at Ft. Campbell, KY. and did different manuvers, exercises and procedures in Arkansas, California, Georgia and two months in Egypt. For 2 1/2 years he did basic manuvers and training in Germany enjoying the weekends - the pluses of military life - sightseeing and traveling.
After Germany he went to Ft. Riley, KS for two years and then back to Ft. Campbell, and back again to Ft. Riley before he was sent overseas to Korea for one year - Dec. 2001 to Dec. 2002.
During the enlistment - a lot of units rotate through a 30-day circle at the National Training Center, in the Southern California desert.
"I went 13 or 14 times on this trip. We come to hate it. For 30 days you sleep and eat sand and play war games."
Gary said this is where you were prepared for war-like situations except nothing can ever prepare you for the real thing.
The first week we were up at 4:30-5 a.m. each day receiving equipment we had packed back on base for this assignment.
"We unloaded radios, digital computers, antennas, vehicles, lazer and hi-tech Army gadgets sun-up to sundown. Our days ended at 9:30-10 p.m. with a 30 minute break for meals if we were lucky."
"Army chow is something else," he said. "We learned to eat chicken 100 different ways - baked, grilled, fried, BBQ, processed, stewed - you name it."
"After the first week, you go to "The Box", the actual training area of the Post. It's just a huge acreage of desert. It is one giant war game for two weeks."
Gary said they are given laser guns and wear vests that sound if they are hit. They have casualty cards in their pockets and when someone is hit you pull out their card and have to decide what to do and who to help first. It should basically take a certain amount of time for various casualties in order to save a life, etc. If they were shot or had broken legs, a sprain, etc., you must access what to do, and then know how to call in a helicopter.
"It was different in Iraq. Nothing can prepare you for it. It's not a game. It's not blanks but real bullets. In practice you hear a beep and you're dead. Seeing that in real combat is not the same."
"One thing I can do when I get out is be an E.M.T. in an emergency. There is nothing there I haven't already seen."
The final week at the Post is the reverse where they pack everything up for its return to their home base.
"The training is boring and draining, but it pays off. Some of what we did was identical but there are things you can't train for," he said.
Gary said he has been a "pin cushion" for immunization shots.
"I use to hate needles, but now - pick an arm. I've had Hepatitis, Flu, Anthrox, Small Pox, Yellow Fever, Tetnaus, Typhoid, Malaria, HIV, TB. They drain blood every six months."
The Korea assignment was shortly after Sept. 11, 2001 and family wasn't allowed. His unit had just returned from there and within a couple months, he was on his way to Bagdad at the forefront of declaring War on Iraq.
Gary said they had to carry all of their heavy equipment (200 lbs.) 1 to 3 miles.
They dropped the big stuff and went on with their necessities (50-75 lbs.) (1-3 days).
We'd go a week or week and half without seeing fresh socks, t-shirts, uniforms and shaving gear-sweating daily.
It was 90-95 degrees. The highest it got to was 145 degrees and for a couple weeks it averaged 135 degrees.
When it got to 80-85 in the day and 40-50 at night a couple weeks ago, guys actually were cold.
Gary regularly had planning meetings and let his guys sleep while he caught shorter sleeps.
"You have to tell yourself youšve got to keep doing it. You just keep telling yourself you can't quit. There's the adreneline that helps you and you don't realize it because you are so pumped, ammunition is flying. When you get back, you drink bunches of water which was brought in daily. The 130 in our unit drank 70 cases a day.
Now, they are saving more water since it has cooled down. Some are wearing their winter coats in the 60-70 degree "winter" weather.
Gary said you can only prepare so much. After that its up to your mental and physical condition.
"We went 2 1/2-3 days with 2-4 hours sleep. Two hours made you feel like you had slept for a week," he said.
"You don't want to miss your briefings so you stay up and let your guys sleep."
Gary had nine guys under him and the first week he didn't shave or change clothes, nor hardly ate, and he lost 25 lbs.
"I looked like death."
The 25th of March his unit left Kuwait to cross into Iraq 3 weeks before war was declared on Iraq. He spent Easter weekend in Bagdad with an embedded newsman who let him make a 5 minute call to his wife Shana just to tell her he was okay.
Gary's unit took part in getting Saddam's sons. For six hours they exchanged fire after an Iraqi told them of their whereabouts.
Gary said now that he is home, it is hard sitting here knowing his comrades are still fighting the battle.
He personally knew six from his unit that were killed when two helicopters crashed.
"It's hard to watch the news knowing what's going on.
"That day, I'd have gone back. It's the brotherhood. You experience things together and its a bond we'll always have."
Gary talked about morale boosters.
"The morale is always down when the mail doesn't come, but when it comes, it's up. Guys love mail. It really affects you. You can go 4 to 5 days from its effect.
"When a package you are expecting doesn't show up, it's a downer."
Gary said it doesn't matter who sends a letter, its always read and it amazes them.
"A fourth of my letters were from people I never knew. It is just good to hear from someone back here. It meant the world to me to know someone actually took the time to write. To me that's what makes what I do so rewarding."
Some hints on what to put in a package, Gary says, is something to spice up the food.
"We like little jars of anything spicy, salt and pepper, anything we can dump in our chicken to make it taste different. Cheeze whiz in cans is like heaven on earth. Once I put Chip Ahoy cookies in just for a different taste."
Gary said they like Koolade and lemonade packets - no Gatorade, it is well supplied, but they love Spam, soup, beef stew in cans - American food.
Also, they love to read and are big on magazines, sports or news. He even said how much The Quills had meant.
"I would get several at once and I put them all in order. Then I'd scan each. Then I would read them again more carefully. I read them several times and each time see something I hadn't seen before.
"I especially enjoyed reading about the car show."
Gary said one of his buddies started reading about the cars and then got hooked on The Quill and people he would read about. He would even ask about people he read about.
Gary said he didn't know about the loss of La Harpe's Corporal Evan James until he read it in Newsweek much later. His family had kept it from himthey didn't want to upset him.
"I didn't know him well, but I felt just as bad. It's a brotherhood."
War is not glamous - but soldiers like Gary are ready to go when they are asked by our country.
Gary said he knows men who wanted to stay and fight in combat because they are proud to serve their country.
"Being with soldiers as a comrade is a teaching and learning experience," he said. "We are side by side, and hardly a day goes by we haven't learned from each other."
Gary plans on making it a career in the military.
As it looks now, the rest of his unit (300 to 400 soldiers) will come back in February and March to Ft. Campbell.
Since they are on a six month rotation for peace-keeping assignments, they wouldn't be scheduled to return until 2005 and Gary's enlistment ends March 2005.
I couldn't wait to get out in the world.... but now, I've gone, and I've done it all. Now, I'm ready to come home...ready to be back home in La Harpe."
Jackson says after he finishes his six year enlistment he wants to sign up for the National Guard or Reserves to be home while he completes his 20-years in service.
SSG Gary Jackson of La Harpe stands with his wife Shana and daughter 9-year-old Kayla at their La Harpe home. (his 7-yr old daughter Savanna is not pictured)