Hero Essay: Zach Wickey

By: Stephen Miller

I felt like I should do it out of a sense of duty. Zach Wickey said as he remembered his experiences. He had always wanted to be in the military since he was ten. His wife thinks it was good for him because he got to learn lots of stuff, about how to handle guns safely, and about the war, but she is happy that he is home and safe. I decided to interview my brother-in-law Zach Wickey because I think he is a hero. I think Zach Wickey is a hero because he showed bravery, he showed persistence, he showed courage, and he showed determination while in the military. I called him up on the phone and asked him if he had a moment, and told him it was for a assignment for language arts. He said that he had a moment and that he could answers a few questions, so I asked away. I started my interview and I asked him, How did you first get involved with the military? He responded with a very simple yet a very intriguing answer. He said I always wanted to be in the army since I was ten or so, I felt like I should do it out of a sense of duty. The next question I asked him was, What was your first impression of t he military?

He answered by saying, The military operated very differently than how I expected it to. The next question I inquired was, What was the worst thing about being in the military? He responded with a very simple answer, The worst thing about being in the military is being away from friends and family for so long. I asked, When your family found out you were going to join the military what was their reaction? I waited as he tried to remember their reactions. He answered by saying, They were mad, I signed up the day I turned eighteen, I tried to get my dad to sign me up when I was seventeen but he refused. I asked, What was it like in Iraq? He answered by saying, There were five foot high piles of trash that smelled like dead fish, it was very hot, and the people there really didnt like us much. The second to last thing I asked him was, What was your favorite part about being in the military? He answered, The best part is getting to work with the equipment, getting to fire all the guns, getting to jump out of planes, and getting to drive huge mraps, armoured and ready to go.

The final question I asked him was, What happened that you had to leave the military? The final answer he gave me was, One day he was playing football and he tripped and hit his shoulder on a rock, it was a very bad injury. The whole ordeal ended with an honorable discharge. This all happened while on a two weeks mission to train Iraqi army and conduct patrols. They were staying in a joint camp for physical training. At the end of the interview I asked him for the story of the first time he went to Iraq. Thinking of a story, he told me that on their way over to Kuwait they had to stop in Germany to refuel. It took them 8-10 hours in germany and another 6 hours to fly to Kuwait. Since it was so hot they spent the one or two weeks in Kuwait waiting for a flight to Iraq. While they were in Kuwait they had to ride around in busses that had covered windows. He got a flight on the back of a Marian flight. nobody knew that they were soldiers. This flight took them into Ramadi where he meet up with his company. Him and his company flew to an American base in Iraq, Al Asad. They waited till they got on a helicopter and flew to Fort Bragg, where they stayed for two months. After the two months they flew back to Kuwait on a civilian aircraft.