Troops From Wisconsin Called to Active Duty in Iraq

Story by Josh Kirk

The mere mention of war stirs feelings and thoughts of soldiers in red pin striped coats, drums beating in sync and American flags leading a barrage of troops to victory. The mere mention of war brings about feelings of patriotism, respect, and honor. The mere mention of war stirs these feelings, but for the war in Iraq, these feelings have changed.

According to a CBS News/New York Times Poll, it is estimated that as of May 18, 2007, 72 percent of Americans disapprove of the war in Iraq, while that leaves 23 percent for the war, with 5 percent being unsure, it’s affirmative that the majority of Americans feel that the brutality and death isn’t justified by the liberation of an already freed Iraqi nation.

It was mid-March, and the Plymouth-based Wisconsin Army National Guard lieutenant had just received word that his unit had been mobilized to go to the Middle East. Sgt. Larson, a National Guard unit from the 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery in Plymouth, was made to be ready to serve in less than a month. Together, there were about 500 infantry unit in the battalion, from Milwaukee, Sussex, Two Rivers, and Plymouth. The job of the called up units is to protect convoys traveling through the Iraqi desert, one of the more dangerous jobs.

While Sgt. Larson could not be reached for comment, his son, Sam had this to say when asked about his father’s tour of duty in Iraq, “At first I thought that I’d be angry, angry enough to hit something or someone that had anything to do with my dad going over there, that is if anything were to happen to him, but now I’m honored.”

Sgt. Larson joined the National Guard in order to pay his way through college. Whether he was to be called into active duty or not seemed to be a secondary issue. “My dad made a promise to his mother that he would pay his own way through college, and he did that with help from the National Guard… he kept his promise,” stated Sam.

The cost of the war has been on the minds of many Americans as well, although perhaps not enough. According to costofwar.com, in Milwaukee County alone, the war in Iraq has cost just over one billion dollars. The cost of the war for the entire nation: just over 430 billion, with numbers rising by the thousands.

“My life is pretty much normal, I go to school and come home, the only difference is I have to write my dad an e-mail when I want to tell him that I love him, except for the rare occasions that I’m able to talk to him on the phone.” Said Sam.