Document text
War experience lives in memory Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Among the several dozen folks from the Rogue Valley who served in the war was Medford resident Stuart Dalton, now 32. An infantryman � known in military parlance as a grunt � Cpl. Dalton was nearly halfway through his last year of a four-year hitch in the Marine Corps when the war started. Rogue Valley residents who went recall their feelings on the Gulf War By PAUL FATTIG Ten years ago, Barbara Barnhill�s teenage son, Robert, gave her a sweatshirt reading, "My Mom Wears Combat Boots." He meant it as an endearing compliment. Barnhill, now 50, was a lieutenant commander in the Navy reserve who had just been called to active duty to serve in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War. "We had been warned that we would have 1,000 casualties on the first day," recalled the nurse, who helped set up a field hospital in tents. "When we got the message the war had started, we were ready." An operating room nurse for nearly 20 years before becoming a Medford School District nurse just before the war started, Barnhill was one of some 500,000 Americans who served in the Middle East during the war that ended 10 years ago Tuesday. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, the United States and its allies launched an air attack on Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991, followed by a ground attack that began Feb. 24 of that year. The ground war would last roughly 100 hours. During the 43-day war, 343 allied troops died in combat and accidents, including 266 Americans. Of the Americans who died, 145 were killed in action. However, more than 150,000 people, mostly Iraqis, died during the war, according to some estimates. That includes some 120,000 Iraqi troops. Among the several dozen folks from the Rogue Valley who served in the war was Medford resident Stuart Dalton, now 32. An infantryman � known in military parlance as a grunt � Cpl. Dalton was nearly halfway through his last year of a four-year hitch in the Marine Corps when the war started. He was among troops dispatched to Saudi Arabia the previous August. A defensive end for the Medford Senior High School football team when it took the state championship his senior year in 1986, Dalton was part of a group known as Task Force Ripper poised on the border of Saudi Arabia and Iraq when the ground war started. He carried an M-16 rifle and a little anxiety as his unit headed into Iraq and harm�s way. "I was nervous � anyone who tells you they weren�t is lying," he said. "I hadn�t eaten in three days. I couldn�t keep food down." Before his task force roared into Iraq in armed vehicles, heavy artillery shells had been dropping around them, he recalled. "Your mind is going a million miles an hour," he said. "You are thinking about what you are trained for. You try to keep mentally sharp. That was the biggest adrenaline rush I ever had." His unit engaged members of Saddam Hussein�s Republican Guard, considered the elite of the Iraqi military. "They stood their ground," Dalton said, adding, "Things happened so fast at that point." He recalled firing bursts from his weapon, and the silence afterwards. "The Gulf War definitely changed my life," he said. "It opened my eyes. It taught me about who I was, about teamwork, camaraderie, risk." Dalton is now married. He and his wife, Dyan, have a daughter, Madelynn, age 2. He works in sales for a beer company. Central Point resident Ernie Chisholm was on the ground floor of the war, having arrived in Saudi Arabia as an Air Force enlisted man early in August of 1990. The former Air Force sergeant�s job was installing and maintaining ground radio equipment. "I remember watching CNN and hearing President Bush say he was going to authorize sending troops over to Saudi Arabia," Chisholm said. "I remember thinking, �Hey, we�re already here.� " It was there that Chisholm, a Chicago native, met Astrid Hartinger, a 1976 graduate of Eagle Point High School. She was a civilian working as a dental assistant. "I knew what was going to happen and asked her to leave the country," he recalled. He also asked her to marry him. The couple now have an 8-year-old daughter. Chisholm was transferred to Turkey, where he provided support for the allied troops during the war. "I�d love to go back and see the Middle East," he said. "It was an interesting experience." Back at her field hospital, Barnhill recalled working her first 12-hour shift as an operating room nurse in the Middle East, waiting for casualties. Although it was a field hospital, it was based on a concrete slab and had three layers of tent material that allowed it to have air conditioning, she said. "There were really no casualties that first shift," she said. "That surprised us." But they would see some wounded as the war marched on. The first was a badly wounded soldier from the United Arab Emirates. They quickly stabilized him and sent him to a hospital in the rear. They would also see burn victims from a truck that had struck a land mine. Other patients suffered various ailments. "We had this one young Marine come in with chicken pox," she said. "He was just devastated. He was ready for battle and he got the chicken pox." Barnhill, who returned to her job as a school nurse, which she continues, said it was difficult being away from her family. "But it was an absolutely good experience going over there," she said of helping the sick and wounded. "I felt no anger at being called to active duty. They had paid for my graduate school. I felt I owed the time." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.