Stories

Name: Dixie Maronn

Age: 27

Hometown: Omro, Wis.

Military Rank/Unit: Sergeant E-5, the 1157th Transportation Company, Wisconsin Army National Guard

Tours: September 2006- August 2007, Taji, Iraq

DIXIE MARONN

by Haley Montsma

Commitment

On a whim, Dixie Maronn and her best friend enlisted in the Wisconsin Army National Guard. For the Omro, Wis., teen, the military was a way to experience something new, get money for college and to serve the country.

Tiffany and I were best friends since 8th grade. After we graduated from high school, we did something a little crazy. The first year we took a three-and-a-half-week road trip from Wisconsin to Washington, D.C. to Key West to California and finally back to Wisconsin. The second year we joined the Army together. Neither of us really knew if we wanted to go to college. We figured college money would be awesome. We’d get to experience things and serve our country. When we were 19 we signed up together on May 28, 2001, exactly one year from the day we graduated high school. My mom wasn't too happy about me joining, but my dad said, “She'll be fine…”

The rest of the story can be found in the book War: Through Their Eyes, which is sold at the University Books & More.

Podcasts

The following files are also available for download to your iPod through UW Oshkosh iTunesU (requires iTunes).

Audio Files