1032nd Transportation Company has 20th Iraqi Freedom Reunion
ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL)—The 1032nd Transportation Company, part of Virginia’s Army National Guard, held its 20-year Iraqi Freedom Reunion. It commemorates 20 years since returning to American soil after serving in the Iraqi Freedom Operation from 2003 to 2004.
“We get back together, and it’s like a big family reunion because, I mean, that’s how tight we were,” Michael Harr, retired staff sergeant for the 1032nd company, said.
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In 2004, the entire unit deployed made it back home. Although, it wasn’t without incident.
“We had several close calls, ” Farron Collier, who served in Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm said. “We didn’t get anyone killed, but we experienced IEDs roadside bombs daily; we had several vehicles that had the windshield blown out almost every day.
Collier said one vehicle blew up and another attacked. He said one person from their company was shot but recovered. Unfortunately, he said four civilians were killed.
“So many so many things happened, getting shot at pretty much daily or they were trying to blow us up daily,” Harr said. “Or at night at the base, having mortars come in on our base.”
“We had vehicles of Third World nationals that we were escorting, some had turned different ways, wrong ways went into a hostile area, more toward into a hostile area,” Josh Brummitt, 1st Sergeant of the 1032nd Transportation Company, said.
“We had to recover those, keep them safe. That was an integral part of what we did was, not only keeping ourselves safe, but third party nationals that that we escorted. It was just that main focus for the wartime effort during that time.”
Brummitt currently serves as the 1st sergeant of the 1032nd company, but in 2003 he went overseas as an E4 and had a lot to learn.
“I learned a whole lot and had a great group of guys that was there that really taught me a lot, showed me the way and kept me on the straight track,” Brummitt said.
“There was a lot of pride serving with this group, and just coming full circle, I never really thought that being over there, that as a specialist, as an E4, I would be able to make it to the rank of first sergeant, to begin with.”
At the reunion, vets and current service members recounted stories and caught up with each other.
Resources for veterans were also available to them at this reunion.
“We’ve had several commit suicide,” Collier said. “I know that’s real hard ’cause you make it through what you make it through over there, and you get back here, and you think you get through the hard part over there, but you still got to live with it over here.”
Brummit said it’s important to share resources, so veterans can be there for each other.
Many veterans said being at the reunion helped lift their spirits.
“Every time I go to one of these, I feel better,” Daniel Hunt, who also served in Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm, said. I don’t feel as depressed or anything like that. I think it just helps to reunite with some good friends, the people you served with, and everyone else who had the same experience that you had.”
“When you talk to a veteran, really the only other person that really understands a veteran is another veteran,” Brummitt said.
“Positive energy, the good vibes,” Matthew Reid, who served in the 1032nd Transportation company, said “I mean, it brings you back to a place. It’s really unexplainable. It really is. I got chills right now. I’m just trying to even think of a way to put it, and I don’t know. I mean, I’m just glad we’re all here.”
April 8 is the anniversary that marks the day they returned to the States.
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