Encoded for the Experiencing War web site for the Veterans History Project.
The recording of the interview with Robin Duryea was digitized.
This transcription was encoded with minimal changes to the original text in an effort to preserve original content and idiosyncrasies of the person interviewed. Period language and terminology are also retained. Encoding is literal with regard to the transcriptionist's capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Spelling errors are indicated with [sic]; however, recurring errors in spelling within a single document have been marked the first time and not subsequently.
This is Tyson Spanel interviewing Robin Duryea on October 16, in (Kearney) Nebraska. She was born October 14th, 1981, served in the army as a specialist, and Was stationed at Fort Campbell. Okay. Were you drafted or did you enlist in the army?
I enlisted.
What date did you enlist on?
September 4th, 2000.
Where were you living at the time you enlisted?
I lived in (Bellevue), South Dakota.
Why did you decide to join the army?
Because I wanted to have some medical experience, and I kind of was thinking about joining the Peace Corps, but I figured the army was probably better, so --
Why did you pick the army instead of any of the other branches of the service?
My recruiter was really always there trying to get me to sign up, so he finally got me.
I see. Was that like -- and (you) had been working on it for awhile?
Yeah, he -- we had been talking for like five months about it. And then I finally just decided that was for me at the time.
What were your first days in the service like -- like in the first __+?
They were hell. I hated it. The drill sergeants -- they were like always screaming at us, and they were always trying to, like, wear us down. And it just -- it really sucked.
Any specific experiences that you recall about that?
Yeah, well, they picked us up on this cattle truck, and, like, automatically, they were yelling at us, saying, like, "Don't you fucking look at me. Don't you look at me. Keep your eyes down." And people were like actually crying. And he was like, "Keep your head down. Keep your head down." He wouldn't like let us look at him. They like crammed us into this truck, and everybody was just like really freaking out. It was just really kind of scary.
Were there a lot of other women in your team?
Yeah, there was a lot of girls.
Do you remember your instructor -- what was his name?
Well, our drill sergeant's name was Drill Sergeant Stoker. And that's really the only one I remember. That's the one that was pretty much with us all the time.
Right. So how did you get through boot camp -- like, what did you do to help yourself through it?
I just knew that -- I saw a lot of people around me doing crazy stuff, like, saying they were going to commit suicide and just all kinds of stuff like that. And I just didn't want to be like that. I just wanted to get out of there. So I knew the more I did, the sooner I'd be out of there.
Okay. Which war did you serve in?
I served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation [pause], Operation Iraqi Freedom -- there it is.
Where exactly did you go over in Iraq?
We went to -- well, we went pretty much all over. I don't remember all the names of little towns, because they're really weird names - but, mainly, we were in Baghdad. And then, from Baghdad, we went to Telefar, which is the northern part.
What was it like when you first arrived there __+?
It was pretty bad because -- well, we were all scared. We didn't know what was going to happen. And we had to drive forever, on -- we didn't even drive on the roads. We were just like driving through the desert. And we were like maybe the fifth convoy or something like that. So the roads were just like nothing but powder, and there was just dirt everywhere. And there was no place to go to the bathroom. The girls had the worst time because it's easy for guys, but for the girls, it's like -- we were just dirty all the time.
Anything else you remember about it __ that surprised you?
It's the people, I guess, because like when you drove through the towns, the people were like lined up along the roads like in a parade or something. And they were all like yelling at us -- yelling nice things like, "We love you," and "Thank you," and they would like throw flowers at us. And they'd be like so close to the cars or our vehicles. And they'd stick their hands in and try to touch us all the time.
What was your specific job assignment over there?
I was a medic.
Did you see any combat at all?
I guess it depends on what you consider "combat." I didn't see like any actual like people getting shot. But we were with the infantry a lot, and there was this one town that we were (attached) with the infantry while they were trying to, I guess, capture the town. So there was like gunshots going off all the time and RPGs. And we drove through a, we drove right past a artillery field that was going off. And there was just a lot of stuff going on around us. But we basically just got all the patients. We didn't like actually like have to shoot anybody __.
Are there many casualties that you saw on the field?
Yeah, there was a lot of Iraqi casualties actually. We had some soldiers, but we got a lot of local people that just kind of like got caught in the middle of it.
Civilians?
Umhum.
Are there any specific experiences you want to tell about?
Just like what I, my job and everything?
Yeah.
Well, there's kind of -- it's kind of hard to remember, but -- certain things. I just remember like getting people in as fast as we could, and then just getting them out as fast as we could because we didn't really hold people too long. We'd get them and then send them out on a bird as fast as we could.
Are any people taken captive in the unit or anything?
No.
No hostage?
Nope.
Were you awarded any medals or citations or anything?
I got an Archon, and that's just kind of like, it's a medal that a lot of enlisted soldiers get.
How did you get that?
You just -- based on your performance, and your squad leader will put you in for it, and then it has to get approved by like the commander or somebody, and that's all, really.
How did you stay in touch with your family while you were over there?
Well, at first, I just sent letters. And then, after a while, after we got stable, they had phones, and I would call every once in awhile.
Did they have e-mail or anything over there?
Yeah, they had -- after we got stable, we had computers, and we had e-mail.
What was the food like over there?
Well, at first it was just MRE's. And then, after a while, they started cooking like -- they call them tea rats (ph) -- and they're just basically just a MRE, but a really big portion of it that they serve like a regular meal. And then, after we got set up and everything was stable, we started getting real food in, and that was pretty good compared to what we were eating.
Did you have any of the Iraqi food over there at all?
Oh, yeah, we ate that all the time. That was good food.
Is there anything weird that they had over there, or __?
They just -- they ate a lot of chicken and a lot of vegetables. And they had this bread that -- it just kind of looks like a tortilla. And it doesn't really have any taste to it actually. You just eat it and stuff.
Did your unit have plenty of supplies over there?
Yeah, we tried to order as much as we could before we left. And then, after we got there, we started getting more stuff in.
Were you under a lot of stress over there -- like a lot of pressure?
Not really. It was pretty fun actually. It was kind of like -- you just have all your friends around; and, I mean, you don't really think about like where you're at. You just kind of do your job.
Were you homesick or anything?
No, huh-uh.
Did you carry anything with you for good luck -- a good luck charm?
Not really, no.
Did you have anything you brought from home or anything?
I had like pictures and stuff, but I didn't like carry them on me all the time.
What do people do for entertainment over there?
Well, we had movies. And we had a satellite dish too after awhile. And, basically, everybody just kind of hangs out together. We had a gym; we'd go workout. We'd eat and watch movies mostly.
Any entertainers come over?
Yeah. Actually, Bruce Willis came down there. And he has a blues band, which I didn't even know. And they played for us. And he got -- him and his band members -- they got dehydrated. So they came over to our hospital. __ I saw there. I sat there and watched them, but I didn't actually go over there and talk to him, because he had like a whole crowd of people around him.
Yeah. Did you have any leave when you were over there?
Yeah, I had 15 days of leave.
What did you do with that?
I came back here.
What did you do when you were back?
I just relaxed, hung out with my family and my friends. And then, we flew back to Washington, D.C. And we were there for a few days, and then got back on the plane to go back.
So where'd you travel while in the service?
I actually -- I traveled to a lot of places, but I didn't get to see all of them. When we went to Afghanistan, we flew to Germany. And then, on the way back, we flew to Italy, and we flew to, I think it was __, but we didn't really get to go around too much.
Do you recall any particularly humorous or unusual events?
So many, I just can't think of any right now.
__+
Yeah, there was always stuff going on. I mean, we were always like joking around, and, __ I'll think of some later.
All right. So do you have photographs from over there?
I have like millions of pictures.
__+
Yeah, I have a lot on my computer that I just collected from other people. We all kind of share our pictures.
So who are the people in the photographs, like any specific people you remember?
There's a lot of just like the lower enlisted people that I hung out with a lot -- a lot of my good friends, my boyfriend -- we have pictures of the whole company together too.
What did you think of your officers over there?
I really, really, really liked my commander. He was really cool. I really love the doctors - they were all awesome. We had one lieutenant that everybody really loved. And then, there is a couple that we didn't really like too much.
What about the other soldiers over there __?
Oh, we all got along so great. We were like the best of friends. We knew that, you know, we kind of had to rely on each other. So we all got really close.
Is that where you met your boyfriend there?
Yeah.
Was that during boot camp or actually over there?
That was before actually any of it started. And we were just in the same company our whole career.
So did you keep any kind of a diary while you were there?
I did at first in Afghanistan, but I kind of quit writing in it.
I see. What did you do in Afghanistan?
We were in Kandahar. We were like the main medical hospital there. So we got a lot of patients in there. And we just basically -- we'd get them, and then we'd make them stable. And then we sent them out as quick as we could to Germany.
Is there anything else about being in the service you want to talk about __+?
I just think it was like probably the best thing I've ever done so far. I met a lot of interesting people. And I've -- I got to do everything I really wanted to do as far as being in the army. And I'll probably have friends forever from being in the service with them.
Are you completely done with that now?
I have four years of inactive service I have to do.
What date did your active service end on?
October 4th, 2004.
Where were you (at) when that ended? Were you back in the United States?
Yeah.
When did you get to come back over here?
I got out 45 days early. So I was here about August 23rd or so.
So how'd you get out 45 days early?
I had (terminal) leave. I had 45 days of leave saved up. So I just used it.
What do you do when you first got back?
I drove back here. And then my boyfriend and me went to South Dakota. He had to go back home. And so I just tried to find a place to live __.
Is the army going to support a lot of your education now?
Yeah, it is, so -- I get like 40,000 dollars of college money from them. And I get medical benefits for two years for free. And it's a lot of different like services that they have for veterans.
Anything else?
__ not. [chuckles]
Did you make a lot of close friendships -- you said you did.
Yeah, definitely.
Is there any people right around here that you know?
Not here in Nebraska, but I have a friend in Kansas that I've already went and saw, and we keep in contact. I guess I was kind of one of the lucky people because like a lot of people over there, they were kind of traumatized. They saw like a lot of bad stuff happen. But I -- I never really saw anything that I couldn't handle. So I was pretty lucky. Tyson Spanel:: What are you planning to do now that you're done with it?
I want to go to college and just try to balance going to college and having a job.
Did your military experience influence your thinking about war or the military, in general?
Yeah, I guess so. At first, I didn't really understand myself why I'm going over there. But, I guess you just -- you can't really question it. You just have to do it. I realize how important it is to support soldiers that are over there. It's not their fault; they're just doing their job. You really don't have any control of what you do when you're in the military.
Did you get a lot of care packages and stuff?
Oh, yeah, we got so much stuff. I mean, if it wasn't for people like sending us shampoo and soap and personal hygiene items, we would have been, like, so screwed.
So just like from people you knew or just --
No, it was like total strangers. I got so many letters from just total strangers. And I got so many like drawings from little kids and packages from people I never heard of before. A lot of them have -- people get your name, and then they pass it on to their churches. And people just send all kinds of stuff. They're generous.
__+ veteran's organizations?
Actually, I did join the VFW.
What chapter do you belong to?
I don't know actually.
The one in Carnie?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Do they have a lot of activities that you go to, or --
I've only been to one meeting because I just joined. So I don't really know what all they do yet. It's a lot of like really older people. I kind of am the only young person there.
Are you planning to have any reunions like --
I would like to. I would like to. Maybe, I hope so.
So how did your service and experiences affect your life overall?
It just -- it taught me a lot. Army teaches you all about being a leader and being decisive and being able to have control, which is -- I think that's something that will probably stay with me forever, I hope.
Is there anything else you want to add that we haven't covered, or -- that's about it?
Yeah. I guess I just encourage people to do it if you, you know, you don't really know what you want to do with your life. Then, it's a good choice to make. Some people don't like it while they're in it, but then, once you get out, you realize it was definitely a good choice.
Okay, well, that's it. I'll say thank you for doing it __+.
Okay, you're welcome.