Veterans recount experiences from Global War on Terror

Veterans of the Global War on Terror shared their personal experiences in a seminar Thursday night.

The six speakers discussed their accomplishments that many back in the United States may never hear about.

They built schools and bridges, expanded democracy, gave girls the chance to receive educations or provided electricity to people who used it for the very first time.

Now, they wonder what legacy might remain.

Operation Bugle Boy presented "Our Military Heroes in the Global War on Terror" to increase public awareness of the sacrifices veterans of the armed forces and their families made during the war.

About 150 people attended the event at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1003, in St. Martins.

Speakers shared common experiences.

American soldiers would rather fight enemies overseas than at home, U.S. Army Sgt. Jacob Vogel said. How the war ended could have been handled better, he said. And, he knows that his colleagues are frustrated.

"A lot of people made the ultimate sacrifice. We spent over 20 years over there," he said.

And, he worries there will be another terror attack that drags the country into another conflict.

"You get a lot of those quotes on media saying, 'We don't want to put our people in harm's way.' I understand that," Vogel said.

That's the military man's job - he said - to run into harm's way.

Missouri National Guard Maj. Eric Wilde (who is also a Jefferson City police captain) said families back home, teamwork back home and letters couldn't have been more appreciated. But, he also met a lot of really good people when deployed in Jordan in 2017 and 2018.

"It's not just us out there, trying to keep the Middle East safe," Wilde said, and added that he worked with two other country partners to keep Jordan safe from ISIS. "It's a team effort. Please don't believe what you see in the media. "Whenever I left and went the first time, I was so scared because I thought every truck I saw was going to have nothing but 15 guys on it with RPGs waiting to kill us."

"It's really not that way," he added.

"We ran into a lot of really good people overseas that are peace-loving and Lord-loving, like we are here in Missouri."

There are good people all over the world, he continued.

The War on Terror started following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on U.S. soil.

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. (retired) Rod Burnett told listeners gestures from the Central Missouri community helped him get through tough times.

Burnett said he started thinking about joining the corps while he was in high school in Jefferson City. He kidded that his training for the Marines started when he was playing football for Coach Pete Adkins.

"I saw these guys that were two years, three years older than me - they were joining the Marine Corps as seniors," Burnett said. "I looked up to them. They had fabulous military careers. Some for 20-plus years."

Some served only four years.

It's hard to put a price tag on the things they experienced and learned, he said.

He also praised his wife and other families back home for the sacrifices they made.

"As I get older, it really sinks in how important those military families are," Burnett said.

He served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and fought in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. His next combat experience came in operations in North Africa and Bosnia. He served in Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.

"That got me ready for a lot of different things that would come my way in the future," Burnett said.

Officers in the Marine Corps are likely to do a tour in the Pentagon. That was his next step.

September skies are a certain kind of blue, he said.

"Every Sept. 11, I walk outside and I look up at the sky, and it's always that bright blue September sky," he said. "And I think to myself, 'That's exactly how it was on Sept. 11, 2001."

By then, a longtime veteran, Burnett had a meeting in an outside building at the Pentagon that day. He heard the explosion and felt the shock. Burnett thought a car bomb exploded, and hurried to try to get into his office at the structure.

He rallied with others and tried to help.

"I never felt so helpless in all my life as I did that day at the Pentagon," Burnett said. "I'm used to being the guy that is on the attack, that is taking the fight to the enemy, and here we are scrambling around."

Firefighters and paramedics "carried the day that day," he said. They picked up the pieces and took charge.

He learned an important lesson in the Marine Corps.

"I learned that ordinary people will do extraordinary things," he said. "And you will never know who they were, or what they did."