Encoded for the Experiencing War web site for the Veterans History Project.
The recording of the interview with Ruben Solis, Jr. 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.
My name is Elizabeth Bryce, I am here with Ruben Solis, Jr., and we're talking about his experience with the military. Ruben, how are you?
Pretty good today Elizabeth, how about yourself?
I'm doing good. So when is your birthday Ruben? How old are you?
I am 23 years old and I was born October 27, 1984 in laredo Texas.
Laredo huh? That is cool.
Weren't you born there too?
I was born there too! How nice of you to notice. So, what war did you serve in?
Operation Iraqi Freedom from February '06 to March '07
What branch of service were you?
The U.S. Marines
Now, you were in the Marines for 4 years correct?
Correct. From January 5, 2004 to January 5, 2008
And what was your highest rank achieved?
My highest rank was the rank of Corporal, which is an E4, enlisted side
How did you like being a corporal?
It was pretty good; I got to supervise my Marines instead of doing all the work
Very cool! Well we are in Ruben's apartment; it is April 13, 2008. And like I said, my name is Elizabeth Bryce, I work with Ruben and he is a friend of mine. And there is nobody assisting us. This interview is being conducted for the Veteran's History Project at the Library of Congress. Now Ruben, I am going to ask you a couple of biographical details about yourself, okay?
Yes ma'am.
Your parents? What did they do?
My mom is a schoolteacher at an elementary school where we live in Southern Ignacio. And my dad works in the rigs. He doesn't live with us. My parents got divorced when I was like eight so yeah we don't see much of him but he is working in the rigs.
Do you have any siblings?
I have three sisters, all younger than me. Rabina is going to be 14 next month, oh my teenagers. leanne is ten and Sabrina is six. I'm the older brother. They give me white hair.
So you like taking care of them?
Well the small ones cause they're small, but the teenager is in the stage where oh my. I'm glad I'm out of the house.
What were you doing before you went into the service?
I graduated from high school in 2003, enlisted the following June and my boot camp date wasn't until January of 2004, and so in that time I went to a fall semester at a community college in Laredo where I picked up 12 credit hours which was good enough to promote me to a PFC instead of starting out as a Private. So that worked out well.
That's pretty cool, was there anyone else in your family who served in the military?
No, there only other person was my grandfather who got drafted in World War II and he was the only one other than me.
Did you have a girlfriend? A job? Before you left?
Um, I stopped talking to my girlfriend about two weeks before I left: which was kind of hard. But I got through it so it was fine.
What about now that you're back?
I've got a girlfriend now. She's in nursing school at University of Texas in Austin. And it's been good so far, hopefully I wont get called back.
How did you enter the service, you enlisted correct?
Yes.
Why did you decide to enlist?
I wasn't exactly on the right track when I was in HS I loved to party and do other things that aren't good for a successful life and also after all the 911 stuff happened, I guess it was more of a patriotic thing. And to get out-where I come from is a really small town and there's nothing to other than drugs and things that aren't good for your life and I just needed a stepping stone, I knew going into it I wasn't going to be there forever I just needed a jump start to a better life, to learn some responsibility, live by myself, make my own money and learn to be successful.
Why did you choose the Marines?
Because they're the best in the military.
When you left for training camp what was that like?
It was pretty hard. Before I left my family threw a big party for me in Southern Ignacio and a lot of people went. It was really fun. And then they had to drop me off in San Antonio so I could stay the night and go to Fort Sam Houston to get all my documents ready for me to ship off. When we went, my whole family went to drop me off about 20 people went to drop me off at the hotel and it was pretty hard-everyone was crying and everything so it was pretty much the first time anyone in our family had gone away like hat so it was something different for us.
What was boot camp like when you first got there and were going through it?
It was pretty crazy-now it's like a great memory but going through it was pretty crazy. Its kind of funny, can I say a story?
Oh, please.
Well you know in the mornings the trumpet sounds [mimics trumpet wake-up call] well I used to sleep on the bottom bunk so every morning I would freak out, wake up quickly and I would hit my head on the top rack so like, for the first week I had a big scar on my forehead and I looked pretty funny being bald and I had to wear those big glasses cause I wear contacts. But you meet some great people cause you have to get through it together, so you make some good friendships but it's pretty hard and crazy. Hard to get used, you can't talk to your family for the full three months. The only communication you have is by letters. So every few days near the end of the day we would all-drill instructors would sit us all down and he would get the mail and he'd throw it at us-he wouldn't give it to us he would throw it at us like-HERE-so it was always good to get mail, it really brought up your day cause somebody cares. It was the first time I was every out of the state. My boot camp was in San Diego California, and it sits right next the airport. So you're sitting there watching all the planes fly and you wish you were there trying to get out and you could see the tops of all the house when you were on the parade deck and how beautiful California is you just cant wait to get out and experience it, it was a pretty good feeling when you finally got 0 cause California is very very lovely, just beautiful, so it was worth it in the end.
Well glad you had fun, or looking back you think you had fun, haha. Did you get any kind of specialized training?
After we all finished boot camp, anyone who wasn't infantry Marines had to go through a Marine combat training in camp Pendleton for a month where they teach you all sorts of weapons and how to plan C4 and land navigation so that, well every Marine is a rifleman regardless of your job and so everyone had to be trained and know how to do all the things to be successful during wartime
What was it like traveling abroad?
That was very different-well going to California was my first time every leaving the state so of course it was my first time leaving the country. At first it was hard, unreal that you're going somewhere that you see on the news, you see the disaster and horror over there and its craz:.( to think you're going, but what made it easier was having a lot of friends with me that had already been there, who knew the ropes who could mentor us on how it was going to be, instead of going through it by yourself you knew you had people that are going through the exact same thing and you have to get through it together to get back. It was pretty crazy-just the thought of leaving-no party no nothing for a very long time, no freedom, its like going to jail or prison kind of.
Was it hard adapting to military life?
The food was pretty good. It's funny because before I left for boot camp I was very picky, I wouldn't eat anything. And in boot camp you're running around all day and you're tired so when you do get to eat you'll eat anything, and I started eating lima beans and crazy stuff that I wouldn't normally have eaten. So I didn't mind the food at all. It was hard adapting-waking up really early-all hours of the night. A lot of rules of course, haircuts every week, shaving everyday. But in the end it was good, makes you more professional. When you get out you get used to things like that, which makes you look and act more professional. Barracks life I liked it but hated it at the same time. I hated field days which were once a week when I was in it, but now its once a month, and you have to really clean your room, scrub everything and wait outside at Sam for someone to come in and inspect it and run their finger through everything, make sure there's no dust and all. But it was really cool cause you meet some really cool people and we always had a blast. Even if we didn't go out to party in a dub, weld all get in somebody's room, buy a lot of beer and just drink the night away; it was fun, good times.
Where all did you serve?
I went to transportation school in Fort Eustace, Virginia for a month ... after boot camp I went to Marine training camp for a month at camp Pendleton, then I went to the transportation school but it was backed up 2 months so for those two months they sent us back to where we were from to work at a recruiting station near where we lived so I worked for 2 months in Laredo, which was great cause I got to be with my family for 2 months. I had to drive to Laredo everyday but it was ok because I talked to people and go to functions and it was cool. Then I went back to Fort Eustace in august for a month for transportation school then got orders to go to Camp Pendleton California in September.
And you served in Iraq?
Yes. I was in California from September 04- February 06, which is when we deployed. I was station in AI Asad, Iraq. Which is an airbase in western Iraq, mainly an airforce base. We were a small detachment, my real unit was in Allicadum Iraq, and we're just a sub unit stationed there for our tour.
What kind of action did you witness?
Mainly IEDs, which were explosive devices, was mainly what we ran into. Our job was to resupply units out there by convoy. We managed supply routes between commands and units to ensure successful completion of assigned missions, were responsible for international shipments containing millions of dollars worth of government supplies and hazardous materials. So we had to find the quickest, safest and most cost-efficient routes to transport government materials and equipment to different units around the western province of Iraq with the convoy. So mainly on routs what we ran into were ids, always find them, never failed that every time we went out wed find them. Me, personally I just experienced maybe 2 blasts which weren't deadly thank god, nothing too severe, not too close, mainly other parts of our convoy, but I did have friends that experienced a little bit more. One of my friends went on this convoy and he was on the back of this convoy with like 10 people on the back: and it was funny cause that day his caviar-his helmet-had busted a strap so I lent him mine and he went out and it had been raining bad. He was on his way to Jadisso Dam and the rivers and all were pretty flooded, the creeks and they had to cross a river and the convoy commander decided to just push through and while his vehide got through, the tide was pretty strong the water was high and their truck flipped over. Well everyone in that vehicle died, drowned, except him which was really an eye opener for us and made us more cautious that you never know what could happen-it doesn't have to be combat related for something to happen-anything could go wrong and you have to be on your toes an aware. Luckily he made it. I mean I feel sorry for the others and their families, but he was the one from our group. And he made it and after that he seemed pretty out of it, well to think, "everyone died except me" was pretty hard. There was this other girl that used to work with us, she wasn't in my group but she used to do operations with us and her last name was parcels. One time toward the end of our tour-I think it was 2007 already-at the time they were pulling all the women and sending them to the Syrian border to pat down Iraqis crossing, well one of the women she [Parcels] was patting clown happened to have an explosive vest-a suicide vest and while she was patting down, I guess it exploded and just tore her up. She passed away, she was only 22 and she was engaged to some other Marine who was out there, which was really sad. They had a ceremony and everything but I wasn't able to make it I think I was working that day. It was just sad to see people so young have their lives ended over there when it was so close to come home. But that's really what we ran into, explosive devices. Our convoy got shot at a couple of times- it wasn't too crazy like what you see in the movies but it was taken care of and we're fine now.
How did you feel when you were in combat?
When you're on basing its different, you feet safe. We would get mortared a couple of times. And it was scary but not because whoever mortars us-the choppers would come and find whoever did it so it ends right there but whenever you do go out of base its just a weird feeling because before you go out that gate everyone has to get out of that vehicle and you know-lock and load. You have to be condition one which is you're rounding the chamber and its just weird knowing that this real that if you do have to take your weapon off of safety its to actually shoot at somebody and its not a game anymore, this is real. You're going to fire at somebody and somebody is going to fire at you. And its scary but good thing were trained and ready for things like that.
What kind of friendships did you form?
Boot camp was pretty good cause you go through all that together. Its funny, our drill instructor the one we hated the most -we had four- and three of them we started liking them toward the end and that's how it always is-but we had this one that we just hated throughout. That one happened to be my staff non-commissioned officer in charge when we got to the fleet in California. So it was weird cause he was my non-commissioned officer in charge and he and another guy who went to boot camp with me were working together. So it was all three of us and that was funny. But I made great friends and then everyone disperses to their different jobs. Its always good to see them when you do- I saw a couple of them in Iraq and they were doing fine which is good. The best friendships I made though were actually in Iraq cause 13 months, two diff tours, I actually decided to volunteer to do the extra tour, so half were one group and the other half the other group. So the other group it was only me and my friend Estrella, we were the only 2 who stayed the year. So we made a great friendship and were the only 2 who stayed for the down time which was great cause I got like 6 credits out there. Listened to music, wed wrestle a lot in the barracks and act stupid just to make each other happy, to make each other laugh. It was great I was with a great bunch of guys and we had a great time when we had time to ourselves it was good.
And when you were coming home?
We flew over here and it was the best feeling in the world- you're finally coming home, we stopped in Germany and we got to have our first beers and it was really good-German beers- so then we flew to California and its just a great feeling to see the palm trees again and I cant describe it but its even a greater feeling cause from there we had to take a bus down to camp Pendleton and there all my family was waiting-like 20 people were waiting for me with banners and everything. Everybody's there cheering when the buses come in and it's a great feeling after 13 months seeing your family again and know they're there-drove all the way from Texas- to support you and be there and after that, the day after, we all drove to Vegas and-enough said about that. I just went crazy in Vegas, best feeling in the world
And now that you're here in civilian life how does it feel?
It is different, maybe harder, but good cause you have all they taught you that you can use over here in the way you act and present yourself. They really taught me how to be successful now as compared to if I hadn't gone in. I see myself as a better person, stronger person, and know that ill accomplish what I set out to accomplish which is my degree and to start my own real estate business.
What kinds of awards and medals did you get?
I got the Navy and Marine corp achievement medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Marine Corps good conduct medal, Gloal war on terrorism service medal, National defense service medal, certificate of commendation, and meritorious mast
Do you have anything more you wan to share?
Not for now.
Well, Thank you for your time and this interview.
Thank you.