NORWICH – Nearly everyone in America agrees Sept. 11, 2001 was a defining moment in our country’s history, but for many in the United States Armed Services, the attack on the World Trade Center was just the beginning.
Staff Sergeant Willard Brown has served his country and his state for 29 years, participating in the U.S. Navy from 1977 through 1982 before enlisting in the New York State National Guard. He was at Ground Zero shortly after the attack on the World Trade Center took place, and he was deployed to Iraq to serve there as a result.
His Guard Unit, the 204th Engineers Alpha Company out of Walton, were called to stand guard around the World Trade Center.
“We worked 12 to 14 hour shifts for nine days,” he said. “There was nothing we could do. The destruction was already done,” Brown said.
“Right after it happened, it brought the country back together,” he said. “People cared about each other.” Brown thinks that some of that has been lost over the last five years, as the country grows more complacent.
“People think that this can never happen again. They don’t understand why we’re fighting,” he said.
In the resulting war on terror, Brown and his unit were sent to Iraq. They were there from March of 2004 to March of 2005.
“It changes your outlook on life,” Brown said, speaking of the young soldiers with whom he works. “You can see it in their eyes. They’re these young kids, and they’ve seen more than most people see in the lifetime.”
His unit worked hard, providing services for the civilians while they were there. They refurbished school houses, built small structures for the Iraqi army to use, and rebuilt hospitals.
However, these were not the images shown on the news. According to Brown, television news shows too many of the negative images, and not enough of the positive. He thinks the country is safer today than in 2001, but not safe enough.
“It doesn’t matter if you support the war,” Brown said. “Support the guys going over there who do what they have to do.”
Staff Sergeant Matthew Montgomery-Parrish is one of those guys. Parrish was in the National Guard and was scheduled to get out on Sept. 11, but as soon as he heard about the attack on New York, he knew his time would be extended, because he was a medic. He was sent to the World Trade Center immediately and worked recovery and rescue, and then, when all hope of finding survivors was gone, search and recovery.
When Parrish’s extended time in the National Guard was up, he volunteered to return to active duty in the Army.
“I thought, if I could save one person, it would be worth it,” Parrish said. He served three tours in Iraq as a medic, and had the opportunity to save many.
Parrish served with the 115th Combat Support Hospital out of Fort Polk, La. They served in Iraq treating both Americans and Iraqis.
“The biggest thing to deal with was treating people who you knew might go back out there and shoot your best friend,” Parrish said, but the 115th treated everyone, whether enemy or friend.
As part of the security escort team, Parrish treated prisoners, including those in Abu Ghraib. He arrived there after the scandal, and said his unit’s mission was to restore the honor. His unit saw so many casualties, they had people being treated in hallways, and sometimes ran out of beds.
“It’s difficult after, because no matter how good you do, how many records you set, it always goes back to the scandal,” Parrish said.
According to Parrish, the Iraqi people were much more apprehensive after news of Abu Ghraib got out, but his unit continued to offer them a high level of care, to prove that every unit is not the same.
“You can change people’s outlook for the whole country, just by doing what you’re supposed to do,” Parrish said.
According to him, members of the 115th returning for their third tour in Iraq, feel just like they did the first time.
“We’ve got a job to do. Nobody is fighting to get out of it.”
After one year and seven months in Iraq, Parrish was medically discharged with five herniated disks in his back. The transition to civilian life has not been an easy one.
“It was the most traumatic event of my life,” Parrish said, recounting the things he has seen, “but in hindsight, I’d do it all over again. I never regret going over there, and I’d love to serve with the 115th anytime.”
Parrish is trying to adjust, although it has been difficult. He has been actively seeking employment in the medical field. According to him, “9/11 is a day of remembrance, and motivation for soldiers, and we can sleep at night, knowing good soldiers are over there making sure we’re as safe as they can make us.”