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Friday, November 11, 2005
Veterans still serving their country
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Convoy Support Center Scania, Iraq — Fellow soldiers jokingly call him “Old Man” and “Pa Pa.”
Jeremy Redmon/AJC
Sgt. Terry Spencer, 56, is a veteran of Vietnam, serving his country again in Iraq.
The names don’t bother Sgt. Terry Spencer. After all, he is 56 years old. And this is his second war.
But Spencer says this one will be his last. He plans retire after he returns home to Aragon some time next year.
Spencer is one of many veterans now serving in Iraq.
Like Spencer, some fought in Vietnam. Others served in Bosnia. And still others were in Desert Storm. These soldiers spent Veterans Day 2005 back in harm’s way in a foreign land.
Spencer has served about 21 years in the military. He was drafted in 1968 and flew in a reconnaissance plane, spotting targets for the U.S. Army in Vietnam.
The enemy, he said, frequently shot at his plane with rockets and mortars.
“We were always getting shot at, more so than we do here,” said Spencer, who is married with two grown children and six grandchildren.
Spencer said he was preparing to retire when he learned the 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment was getting ready to go to Iraq. He prayed about what he should do. And the answer became clear to him.
“This isn’t where I want to be, but it’s what I felt I needed to do,” he said as he sat on his cot with his rifle tucked in the crook of his arm.
“I believe in my country and our freedom. I believe this is something we have to stand up against,” he said of the violent insurgency here. “If we don’t do it here, we will be doing it somewhere else.”
When his unit was stationed in Mahmudiyah, Spencer helped guard detainees who were suspected of being insurgents. He was picked for the job, he said, partly because of his 22 years experience working in the federal prison system. He said about 400 prisoners passed through his care during the nearly six months his unit was in Mahmudiyah.
“We had some pretty good catches,” he said.
Spencer now works in the 108th’s motor pool at this rest and refueling stop, where he keeps track of vehicles and their parts.
“It’s a good little job for an old man like me,” he said.
Spencer predicts retiring won’t be easy. He said he will miss his buddies. They made him want to stay in the military this long.
