Tag Archives: wounded warriors

For Tim Hetherington: Thoughts From A Soldier On His Birthday

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December 5 is Tim Hetherington’s Birthday. WarRetreat was started in his honor, following his untimely death this year in Libya. Tim will always be remembered for is his many embeds with the 2/503, Battle Company of the 173rd Airborne in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. The relationships he formed with the men were the basis of the film Restrepo, Tim’s book Infidel, and Sebastian Junger’s book WAR. To mark Tim’s birthday, WarRetreat is pleased to have Eric Ortegren from Battle Company, share his thoughts.

By Eric Ortegren

We became hardened men in the Korengal. Most interaction with media was disliked and carried the weight of bad luck. This was really brought home to me when Al Jazeera English came to my remote Fire Base Vegas for a tour. While our Platoon Sergeant SFC Blaskowski was showing the reporter around, a single round rang out. We ran to our posts and lit up the whole forest, but no more shots came at us. After a brief lull we heard the shout for medic. I grabbed a radio and ran down, only to see SFC Ski sucking for air. It was one of the worst days of my life to work so hard to keep him alive, and watch as life left his eyes before the medevac bird even landed. Needless to say reporters had a stigma.

Sebastian and Tim, Korengal Valley, Afghanistan

    I met Sebastian and Tim while refitting at the KOP and was surprised to learn that I instantly liked them. It helped that I planned at that time to be a commercial fisherman when I got out and Sebastian had written the best fishing story (The Perfect Storm) since The Old Man And The Sea, which I had read multiple times.

These men were a genuine shock because they actually wanted to know us. They cared about us. Over a short time they proved to not get anyone killed, or cower and put us at risk. A paradigm shift occurred that I had never heard of in American military circles. We accepted them as our own. 

We protected them just like the man to our left and right, which is a very sacred brotherhood that few are given the privilege to enter. I dare say: We grew to love them, and they grew to love us. It was because they took a new approach and wanted to report on us not the war. 

Tim and Sebastian made us human in a war where the American public had become detached. They forced America to see that the men on the front lines who lived in fear and anticipation (every waking moment) and are now plagued by it in our nightmares –were the same kids that used to play football at the big homecoming games. The same guys who worked at the Subway down the street. (Sal Giunta)  We weren’t superhuman assassins intent on killing, and we earned a Medal of Honor for one of the most laid back non overbearing men I have ever met. We were normal men doing extraordinary things all with the hope to bring your man to the left and right home alive. 

Sebastian and Tim showed it in such an eloquent way in their film Restrepo that a country that was numb to our plight gained their long-lost empathy. For that we are forever indebted to them. For that Tim will be among the pantheon of heroes. His legend will go on inspiring a whole new generation of photojournalists to take it as far as they can.

Eric with the Troops First Foundation

I was medically retired after leaving the Korengal about nine months in. The transition back to civilian life was the most difficult time in my life. The lack of camaraderie is what made it so hard. My marriage suffered, my family suffered, my identity suffered. I came back a shattered remnant of the man I was before. Making peace with who I have become was amazingly difficult. But we are Sky Soldiers, and we drive on and continue the mission.

I am finishing up with my first semester towards a Masters in Clinical Social Work hoping to work on veteran reintegration as there is a great need. My desire is to continue the professional development of soldiers. I participate with many wounded warrior functions and was recently given the amazing opportunity to fly in the wounded warrior project balloon at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.  I even recently reignited a passion with fly fishing going on a Troops First Foundation fly fishing retreat. I went with my best friend, who lost his legs in the Korengal in our one IED attack.  
Life is still a constant struggle and more work than ever, but now I am proud of who I am and what I did. I won’t ever let my disabilities take that away from me. You know, we thought about God a lot over there, and what his judgement would be to us back here, but it is what you make it. I read a great quote the other day:
“There is but one god and he is death…
all we say to him is not today”

Eric Ortegren fly fishing with Troops First Foundation, New Mexico

Our Gratitude: Helping A New Generation of Combat Veterans

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Retired Marine Buck Rogers reaches out to a new generation of veterans. Photo: Jeanine Hill

Sure. There are lots of ways to give to veterans and those in active duty. We write checks, we participate online in forums. But the nagging questions always comes back to us: are we helping people in our community where we live? 

Each week in the bucolic town of Orange, CA, a steady group of veterans and supporters retires the flag each Wednesday in the plaza at 6 PM. It’s a moving ceremony: taps is played, and once a month they read the names of those who have perished in the present day wars. Two of the regulars there are Buck and his wife Karin. WarRetreat is grateful that years after retirement, Buck is helping a new generation of veterans find their way in the aftermath of war. We are pleased to reprint this article with a photograph by Jeanine Hill, which appeared in the OrangeReview.

Know The Neighbors: Proud To Be An American! 

By Karen Anderson

Having served in three wars during his military career, Orange resident Robert “Buck” Rogers has devoted a lifetime of service helping military veterans. As treasurer of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 1024, Buck assists vets in obtaining health claims for military injuries, as well as other types of assistance for those in need.

This Veteran’s Day, Buck and his wife, Karin, plan to attend the evening of remembrance in Garden Grove.

“I like to stay active; it keeps my mind occupied,” said Buck, who enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1945 and retired in 1974.

Working with aircraft his entire career, Buck began as a crew chief on R4Ds stateside in Virginia during World War II. In 1950, he went to Korea, where he served for two years as an R4D crew chief, taking supplies to the forward areas and transporting the wounded back to field hospitals. One of Buck’s most vivid memories of combat involves crossing enemy lines to drop flares.

“Each night, we were in charge of dropping flairs for our night fighters so they could see the enemy transportation driving by.”

After the war, Buck was transferred back to North Carolina, and then to El Toro, working on command aircraft under the general there. He then spent three years on O‘ahu as a crew chief on R5D aircraftfor the Command for the Pacific Area. He returned to El Toro, and then headed off to Vietnam, where he served from 1968 to ’69.

During the Vietnam War, Buck supervised aircraft maintenance for his squadron. He saw combat while delivering supplies and bringing back wounded.

“It was routine work that had to be done,” he recalls.

When Buck retired in 1974, he went to work for the Academy of Defensive Driving as an instructor, where he stayed until 1999. Living in the same house in Orange that he bought in 1961, Buck continues to work diligently on behalf of veterans.

“We need to bring our troops home,” Buck said. “There are so many wounded who need help to move forward and live a normal life. We encourage people to become associate members of a veteran’s group to help out.”