Veterans Stories
Nick Brewer Story
Major: Geographic Information Systems and Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Military Rank: Sergeant E-5, 1-147th Assault Helicopter Battalion, Wisconsin Army National Guard, Madison, Wis., 92F refueler
Tour: August 2010-June 2011, Iraq
Red-Shirt Friday
by Alex Beld
Student Reporter
It’s
Friday and that means Nick Brewer is wearing his red shirt in support
of veterans like himself. He is sitting behind a desk in the Veteran’s
Resource Center at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh waiting to help other student veterans.
Most of the time he just chats with other veterans who come into the
center. This is something he is great at, talking to other people. And
even though he stands over six-feet tall and has a beard, he appears and
acts as friendly as a teddy bear. But it’s also obvious he is a
brawler. Brewer is easy to get along with and hard not to respect.
Brewer is a veteran of the Iraq War, having served his tour from August 2010 to June 2011. He is currently a sophomore enrolled at UW Oshkosh,
majoring in geographic information systems and urban planning. He lives
in Oshkosh with his wife and recently became a dad.
Nothing but Trouble
Brewer was born and raised in Madison, Wis. in 1986, and shortly after he could walk, he started raising hell throughout most of the east side. In elementary school Brewer was already learning how to fight and towered over his peers. Brewer was arrested for the first time in 8th grade, he thinks, for trespassing. He got away without charges being pressed or tickets getting issued. Brewer just saw the police involvement as a scare tactic that, of course, did not work. As he got out of middle school and started his career as a high schooler his knack for causing trouble escalated. Long-haired and at 6’2”, weighing more than 200 pounds, Brewer looked like a mix between a hippy and a linebacker. Brewer’s drivers license and first car, a 1994 Chevy Cavalier, really opened up some doors. To this day he still says that when his parents let him get that car it was the worst idea they ever had. His beater with a heater left him with more energy for trouble and opened up new venues.
I was not a good child. I skipped a lot, I had long hair but was not a hippy. I got into a lot of fights. Brought home by the police quite a bit ... Mostly for breaking curfew, trespassing, loitering, all misdemeanors that didn’t result in anything. The police were mostly, 'we’re gonna take you home and let your parents deal with it.'
To read the entire story, please download this PDF.
Podcasts
In this audio podcast, Nick Brewer talks about the injuries he received during his service.
In this audio podcast, Nick Brewer discusses his early years as a trouble maker and his transition into the military.
In this audio podcast, Nick Brewer shares a humorous experience practicing shooting with a .50-caliber machine gun.
Podcasts produced by student reporter Alex Beld.
Podcast Ruetten
Podcast 2
Podcast 3
Michael Dierich Story
Major: Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 1999-2006, 2011-2013
Military Rank: Sergeant E-5, HHC 864 Engineer Batallion, 555 Engineer Brigade. Health Care Specialist (a.k.a combat medic) Fort Eustis, Va.
Tour: October 2007-December 2008, Iraq
Flash Back
by Trevor Uitenbroek
Student Reporter
The instructor held the class captive with a passage from the book "Hiroshima."
While she read, Michael Dierich started to perspire. Feeling constricted, he tugged at his collar, hoping for relief. The other students paid him no mind as they listened to the instructor describe the aftermath of the nuclear bombing of the Japanese city during World War II. Dierich’s thoughts, however, weren’t on the island nation in East Asia - instead he was thinking about an emergency room in Baghdad.
Dierich is a junior at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. He is also an Iraq war vet.
He thought he had left the war behind when he finished his contract in 2011 after six years in the Army. But he has since learned, he may have left the front lines of war, but war and its effects are still with him, even in an Advanced Composition class.
To read the entire story, please download this PDF.
Podcasts
In this audio podcast, Michael Dierich talks about going on patrols.
In this audio podcast, Dierich shares his story about when the building he works at catches on fire and the ensuing comedy.
In this audio podcast, Dierich shares his experience of participating in an Iraqi burial.
Dustin Hackbarth Story
Major: Political Science, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Military Rank: Sergeant E-5 3rd Brigade 4th Infantry Division Fort Carson, Colo.
Tours: Dahlia Province 2005-2006, Baghdad 2007-2009, Dhi Qar Province 2010-2011
Nothing Like the Movies
by Isaac Federspiel
Student Reporter
About once or twice a month Dustin Hackbarth watches "Top Gun," which has been his favorite movie for as long as he can remember. It’s a solitary experience for Hackbarth, and even though he’s watched it countless times, he still tears up when Goose dies. The opening scene is what really hooks him into the movie.
They’re playing "Highway to the Danger Zone" and you got the aircraft on top of the aircraft carrier that’s ready to take off. The teamwork, the coordination, just going along with the excitement and the adrenaline. And the thrill of being catapulted off an aircraft.
Watching it reminds him of when he was young, before he graduated high school, before he attended college, before he joined the Army and before he learned that war is nothing like the movies.
To read the entire story, please download this PDF.
Podcasts
In this audio podcast, Dustin Hackbarth talks about how his experiences in war helped him grow an appreciation for the little things.
In this audio podcast, Dustin Hackbarth explains what paved his path to the military.
In this audio podcast, Dustin Hackbarth describes how he struggled coping with the loss of friends overseas.
Todd Raley Story
Major: Social Work, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Military
Rank: Sergeant First Class (E7) Third Armored Division Germany, Third
Armored Cavalry Regiment, 84th Training Division Army Reserves, 98th
Division, 108th Division Army Reserves
Tours: The Gulf War, 1990-1991; The Iraq War, 2004-2005
The Old is New
by Zachary Kaiser
Student Reporter
In Swart Hall at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Todd Raley is an anachronism. After more than 23 years in the Army, this 44-year-old freshman finds himself bobbing and weaving among students half his age whose only experience with war is what they’ve watched in movies.
They might hear his black memorial bracelet tapping gently on his desk, but they don’t know he wears it as a memorial for a fallen soldier and friend. They don’t know where he has been or the scars he’s acquired while serving his country.
For all they know, he is just another weathered man who got sick of some blue-collar job and decided to try college.
In the Beginning
The son of a Navy veteran, Raley, at 18, signed a four-year contract to serve his country in 1987 before graduating from Columbus High School in Columbus, Wis. His army life began in Fort Sill, Okla., training in World War II-style steel helmets in wicked heat. In 13 weeks, he learned basic soldier skills such as shooting, moving as a team and operating artillery.
After basic training, Raley boarded a charter plane heading straight for a tense and divided Germany. From the end of basic training in 1987 to 1989, Raley spent his days waiting for the looming Russian invasion under the shadow of the Berlin wall. He looked at the boarded windows and barbed wire on the other side of the wall and knew he was serving a higher purpose.
To read the entire story, please download this PDF.
Podcasts
In this video, Todd Raley shares his experiences in the Gulf Wars and his interactions with Iraqi citizens.
In this audio podcast, Todd Raley describes how he is still drawn to Army service.
In this audio podcast, Raley discusses his experience as a young soldier in Germany during the tension of the Cold War.
In this audio podcast, Raley describes what it was like firing artillery in the Gulf War.
Video and podcasts produced by student reporter Zachary Kaiser.
Aaron Jackson Story
Major: Criminal Justice and Physical Education, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Military Rank: Specialist E-4, the 3br 1/23 Infantry Tomahawks Company, United States Army
Tour: September 2009-August 2010, Iraq
Hard Life and Huggy Bear
by Hannah Opacich
Student Reporter
Aaron Jackson, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, is a big guy. Standing at 6 foot 2 and about 340 pounds, he should be intimidating, in theory. But he’s far from it. His friends dubbed him “Huggy Bear.” He can make anyone feel at ease with his easygoing demeanor and laidback attitude. He cracks jokes and is refreshingly goofy. What few know about Jackson, however, is that underneath the silly exterior and breezy attitude is man who has encountered more hardships, at 24, than many will face in their lifetimes.
It wasn’t so long ago that his life was full of possibilities when he graduated high school in June of 2007. He had a football scholarship, a full ride to a college out of state, away from Wisconsin and his childhood struggles. Little did he know that only two months later, his life would take a sharp turn away from his football dreams and onto a battlefield in the Middle East.
To read the entire story, please download this PDF.
Podcasts
In this audio podcast, Aaron Jackson talks about first deciding to join the war.
Warren Glas Story
Major: Broadfield Social Science, minor in history, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Military Rank: Staff Sergeant, E-6, Alpha Company 1st Battalion 4th Marines 1st Marine Division
Tours: January 2003 - September 2003, Al Hillah, Iraq; May 2004 - February 2005, Diwaniyah, Najaf and Karbala, Iraq; February 2006 - September 2006, West Pacific Tour
Hill on Fire
by Molly Linn
Student Reporter
Warren Glas was rousted awake and told to go outside. It was his turn for sky watch. He climbed to the top of the amtrack, one of many armored vehicles that were just beginning their journey of over 400 miles from Kuwait to Baghdad. It was the middle of the night and he didn’t know where he was. Maybe they had finally crossed the Kuwait-Iraq border, maybe not. As a private first class, he didn’t ask too many questions. He looked through the dark, across the sea of sand and saw in the distance a glowing light, raised high above the flat desert landscape. Staring, he realized what it was: Safwan Hill, the only hill in the southern Iraqi desert. The ethereal light was probably some military equipment that had caught on fire, but from 30 miles away, the sight had a strong effect on the 18-year-old from small-town Wisconsin. He broke his gaze to look behind him to see if anyone else was looking at the burning hill. What he saw were the small slivers of light coming from the single-file line of amtracks disappearing into the horizon. “This is intense,” he thought. “This is an immense production here.” He looked forward and saw the same thing: a fleet of vehicles trudging slowly toward Baghdad on their first night of invading a country. That was March of 2003.
A decade has passed since that fateful night. Now Glas is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh studying broadfield social science and history with aspirations of becoming a history teacher.
To read the entire story, please download this PDF.
Podcasts
In this audio podcast, Warren Glas explains why he joined the Marines and one of the first times the war felt real to him.
In this audio podcast, Warren Glas describes his relationship with his father while overseas.
In this audio podcast, Warren Glas talks about his first encounter with the Iraqi people.
Podcasts produced by student reporter Molly Linn.
Adam Ruetten Story
Major: Education, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 2015
Military rank: Sergeant E-5, 977 MP CO, US Army
Tour: February 2007-May 2008, Kirkuk, Iraq
Fisherman To Soldier
by Holly Ivansek
Student Reporter
Standing at the edge of Lake Milford in Kansas, with a fishing pole in hand all set to cast, Adam Ruetten cannot imagine any other way to spend his free time. Marveling at the water, he takes in the sound of the gentle wind rustling the leaves on nearby trees. The smell of the lake lingers in the air. It has been over a year since he has been able to enjoy the calm and quiet stillness of the water. The pure sound of nature. On May 9, 2008, only two days earlier, he was in Iraq fighting in a war.
These days Ruetten is a junior majoring in education at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Ruetten still remembers the hard days and nights in the Middle East desert when he was deployed to Iraq for 15 months. In the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, he was filled with uneasiness and the sounds of rockets and car bombs going off in the distance.
To read the entire story, please download this PDF.
Podcasts
In this audio-only podcast, Adam Ruetten talks about the close calls with incoming rockets and how he and fellow soldiers deal with them.
In this audio-only podcast, Adam Ruetten shares his thoughts about the lessons learned from his military experience.
In this audio-only podcast Adam Ruetten discusses how dangers to the US Military didn't only involve small fire, IED's and rockets.
Podcasts produced by student reporter Holly Ivansek.
Kat McCard Story
Major: Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Military Rank: Machinist Mate Second Class E-5, USS George H. W. Bush, United States Navy
Service dates: February 2004-October 2009
Super Mom
by Carly Washebek
Her children, ages 4 and 8, count on her for everything. “Mom, I’m hungry. Can you get me a snack?” “Mom, I’m bored. Will you play with me?” With one arm, she scoops up her son, Aiden, and plops him on her lap. She reaches with her other arm to grab her daughter, Alexis, a snack, and a smile grows across her face. Kathrine "Kat" McCard enjoys each moment of being a mother because six years ago, she was patrolling the Atlantic Ocean on a ship with the U.S. Navy, away from her home and family.
In addition to her single parenting role, McCard is a senior at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh majoring in women’s studies with dreams of one day becoming a certified midwife.
To read the entire story, please download this PDF.
Podcasts
In this audio podcast, Kat McCard talks about why she joined the military right after high school.
In this audio podcast, McCard talks shares her thoughts on 9/11 and why she chose to join the Navy.
In this audio podcast, McCard talks about the lessons she learned from being in the Navy and what she will pass down to her children.
Podcasts produced by student reporter Carly Washebek.
Myles Bork Story
Major: Undecided, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Military Rank: Specialist E-4, 5th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, U.S. Army
Tours: August 2007- November 2008, Taji, Iraq; May 2010-April 2011, Afghanistan
Safe at Home
by Lori Ligocki
Student Reporter
Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound of a garbage truck echoed through Myles Bork’s ears as he slept in the upstairs bedroom of his father’s Appleton, Wis., home.
BANG! The sound ruptured through Bork’s head, jolting him out of bed, blood pumping, breath thrusting in his chest as he scrambled for his gun. He jerked the dresser drawers open, ransacked the closet and cursed loudly. No gun.
I couldn't find it. My dad was downstairs. He was building a fire. He came running upstairs like somebody died. I'm sitting there screaming, 'Where the F is my weapon?' I thought I was still over there. I thought there was something going on, and all of sudden it just clicked, and I was like, 'Oh, I'm home.'
To read the entire story, please download this PDF.
Podcasts
In this audio podcast, Myles Bork discusses positive and negative experiences of being in the military.
In this audio podcast, Bork shares one of his toughest experiences while serving in the military.
In this audio podcast, Bork talks about being in an IED explosion.
Podcasts produced by student reporter Lori Ligocki.
