Where were you 20 years ago today?

Twenty years ago I was sitting in a fighting position just outside of Kuwait City. The cease fire brokered between the coalition and Iraq was only a day old. Major combat operations were declared over after only 100 hours of ground combat. The air campaign conducted during Operations DESERT SHIELD had severely crippled Saddam Hussein's forces. The 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade's demonstration of the Kuwaiti coast had held several Iraqi divisions in place waiting for what they thought would be a large scale amphibious landing. Mechanized forces of the coalition made short work of what was left of Saddam's Army between the Saudi border and Kuwait City. What was supposed to be the "Mother of all tank battles" turned out to be a four day skirmish.
Saddam's forces invaded Kuwait in August 1990. I had been in the Marine Corps for a mere 7 months at that point and had just checked into my reserve unit just the month prior. The invasion and pending US military response was all we could talk about. This was what we had signed up to do. I was a member of TOW Platoon, 24th Marine Regiment. Our unit existed for the sole purpose of killing enemy tanks. What better place to showcase our skills than in the wide open middle eastern desert? We were mobilized the weekend of Thanksgiving and made preparations to move to Camp Lejeune, NC to conduct predeployment training. It was during my last few weeks in the states that Teresa and I would reconnect.
We had broken up when I went off to college in the summer of 1988, and although we still spoke and saw each other on occasion, we were no longer a couple. I think deep down we both new that we loved each other, but maybe we were just too stubborn to admit it? I'm not sure what it was that kept us apart, but I do know that it was the war that brought us together. While I was training in Camp Lejeune I would call and talk to her frequently. She hated the fact that she didn't get to see me before I left. Neither of us knew what the war would bring, but what we did know was that we didn't want the last time that we saw each other to be the last.
Our platoon got to Saudi Arabia on New Year's Eve, we celebrated by passing out cigars and talking about the great crusade we were embarking on. Preparations continued in earnest over the next two weeks. We unloaded vehicles and weapons from cargo ships. Set up and tested weapon systems designed to kill tanks. We continued to fortify our positions at Camp 15 and conducted physical training to stay in shape. We deployed into the Saudi desert on 14 January and on the 17th the air campaign began. Operation DESERT STORM was in full swing. For days we continued our movement toward our assembly areas on the Saudi/Kuwaiti border. We conducted Division sized maneuvers and small unit battle drills. We trained and we waited. Every night we watched as dozens of planes flew overhead, delivered their ordnance, and returned to base or ship. Every day we looked forward letters and packages from home.


TO BE CONTINUED...