2008 Woodie Awards
Student Soldiers
By Jessica Rupell
Rocket Focus Editor
Issue date: 9/7/07 Section: Focus
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"Bush sees Iraq progress, Howard vows to stay"
"26,000 U.S., Iraqi troops go on offensive"
Nearly all U.S. newspapers have been filled with headlines such as these, but these national headlines talk about events that hit home as well.
The fact that young soldiers, from SRU or elsewhere, are going to war is nothing new. Currently, the Iraq War has claimed the lives of 3,742 Americans as of Sept. 4, 2007, according to a CNN count.
Though SRU's Office of Retention Services said it does not keep track of students' deployment locations, they said that during the 2006-07 school year, 12 students used "military" as their reason for withdrawal from the university.
Besides students currently serving the U.S. military in Iraq and other locations, SRU also has students who have previously been overseas to serve their country.
Zachary Acon, 23, a junior criminology major, said he was deployed in October 2003, just two months into his freshman year.
He said he spent the next six months training in the states, went to Kuwait for two weeks and then spent the following 12 months in Iraq.
"I was called on a Wednesday and was told I had to be at my armory by Thursday," Acon said. "Although we didn't find out we were getting deployed until we got there, I just had a feeling (I was going to Iraq)."
Acon said that his name was one of the last ones to be read regarding the deployment, something he found strange because his last name starts with the letter 'A.'
"(I decided that) if they didn't call my name, I wanted to be put on that list (to be deployed)," Acon said. "I felt like I had to. It was a bit of a pride issue, but I wanted to serve my country and I would have felt bad if I didn't go."
Acon said that he was 18 years old and single, and he felt that if there were people leaving their spouses and children, why shouldn't he go, too?
When he arrived, Acon, like the others, said it was completely different than he'd imagined.
"You think everybody hates you, but (the truth is) more Iraqi civilians wanted us there than didn't want us there," Acon said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Megan Brundage
posted 9/07/07 @ 10:37 AM EST
This story did an excellent job of recognizing the sacrifices of soldiers. I would like to thank them for serving our country and helping to maintain the comforts of daily life. (Continued…)
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