To Honor Those Who Honor Freedom

This is a story I wrote about three different American heroes last week for the newspaper I work for in honor of Veteran's Day. To my dismay, it did not get published, because apparently the editors thought that a stories about Hurricane Sandy were more important. But I know many people asked about it, so I just wanted to put it up because I think it is the best piece I have ever written for the Champion. Not only that, but I think it is extremely important to remember those men and women that have served and continue to serve our country every day. So here it is.

MILITARY MEN RETURN TO LIBERTY AFTER BEING DEPLOYED

Often times, military men and women are shown little respect, forgotten for their valiant service and heroic acts of honor, and ignored. These few men, heroes for their acts of service and love for their country explained what it is like to come back to college in the United States after being deployed overseas.
For one 26-year-old Marine, transitioning from the front lines of a battleground to a classroom environment started out as a challenging endeavor. The simple habits of civilian living that were once normalities were all of a sudden a complete culture shock to him.
“Just getting back into the swing of things has been a little more difficult. Most military guys, especially those who have been deployed have to turn themselves off to what they’re doing because while we’re deployed it’s working 24/7—everything is life or death, so when you come to school, it’s hard to shut that down and not stay up all night working when your friends are overseas staying up all night patrolling. It’s kind of a challenge to let yourself rest especially after coming back from a deployment,” U.S. Marine Corp. Sergeant and Liberty junior Jared Delello said.
Delello was deployed twice while enlisted in the Marine Corp—once to Iraq in 2007 and once to Afghanistan in 2008.
While it may be easier for a younger military man such as Delello to make friends with other college students on campus, 42-year-old U.S. Army Sergeant Bruce Wasson said he has struggled with connecting with students and finding colleagues his own age not only to seek counsel from, but to also develop friendships with.
“I have had a couple professors that have taken a particular interest in who I am as a person and understanding my background and that’s helped me kind of fill in that gap of feeling like an outsider, and being an older student here at Liberty,” Wasson said.
According to the director of the Military Affairs Office, Emily Foutz, Liberty University is currently educating 229 residential students and over 18,000 online students who have either served, or who are currently enlisted in the United States Military. One thing that has helped Wasson feel a little more comfortable is the aid of the office counselors which is conveniently located right on campus on the second floor of Green Hall.
”The Military Affairs Office is very quick to answer your phone calls. They will go out of their way to help you resolve a tuition issue, registering for classes, they’re easy to contact, they’re easy to talk to. They meet my particular military needs and that’s been very helpful,” Wasson said.
Apart from being a sergeant in the Army, Wasson is also a licensed minister who is involved in church restoration. Wasson said that he likes to fix problems in the church with military strategies; the military gave him a set of leadership skills that he is able to use in everyday life, whether it is training men to go into harm’s way on a physical battle field or a spiritual one.
David Mitchell, Liberty junior and staff sergeant in the U.S. Army said that military students are people too; sometimes they’re a little more outspoken and confident in leadership positions than others.
Mitchell said that they most of the time, they (military students) need help with learning to overcome and talk about past experiences. He said that the Student Veterans Group is not only a great way to get connected with other veterans and military students on Liberty’s campus, but it is also a great outreach and a way for students who want to support soldiers fighting overseas.