Duluth American Legion helps those young and old get back on feet

With current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as elsewhere around the world, there is plenty of bad news to go around. Many U.S. soldiers have lost their lives in combat the last few years, and it's still uncertain at what point the fighting will stop and the troops can come home for good.

But many troops have already made it home after spending considerable time in the Middle East. Some have been able to integrate easily back into society, while it's been more difficult for others, particularly those wounded while fighting.

For two members of the Duluth American Legion Post 251, their experience abroad was very different, and has led to different lifestyles back on the home front after leaving the military.

Tim Thornberry spent eight years in the marines' active reserves from 1999 until 2007. This included two tours of duty in Iraq, one in 2003 as part of the initial support and then later in 2006.

"In 2003 I was part of the marine expeditionary force that took Mosul in northern Iraq," he said. "We were there helping the Kurds. After some time there my unit went to Albania, then Italy and finally to Liberia where we helped in the ouster of then president Charles Taylor."

The worst part of the whole experience? Getting malaria in Liberia, despite taking all the medication, he said.

Three years later, he said, it was a more traditional tour as it was not part of an invading force like the earlier one. He achieved the rank of platoon sergeant and oversaw approximately 45-50 other marines on a base in the Anbar Province. For seven months Thornberry operated as part of a logistics team on the base when he was not on convoys or on helicopter patrol.

"My average day would be a twelve hour shift. I'd come in an hour early for a briefing, grab a cup of coffee – a cold beverage on a 120-degree day – and help do combat logistics. This was not paperwork, it was project management that would require a lot of coordination with other groups," he said.

Thornberry said it was easy to come home because he compartmentalizes well. Now living in Braselton with his wife, he serves as a financial planner in Suwanee. While serving in the military abroad is never typical, Thornberry is quick to brush off the hero talk.

Someone who is a hero in his eyes, however, is a fellow Iraq vet and Legion member, Jaremy Wilczk. A member of the army, Wilczk was the first non-special forces unit to go into both Afghanistan and Iraq and spent three tours total abroad.

Wilczk earned several honors for his service, including the Silver Star, which he received for heroism during a March 13, 2006 attack in Iraq.

"We are ambushed out of position because we had been compromised from the beginning," he said. "There were 11 of us pinned in the street and it was just chaos – being fired at from everywhere, grenades going over the walls. One guy was killed and two or three were wounded. I was able to provide cover while everyone got to safety."

But, six days later, tragedy would strike for him while in Ramadi. Struck by an RPG on his right leg, he had to immediately be shipped home to Ft. Campbell, Ky. where he underwent a triple fusion, receiving three plates and seven screws. He received the Purple Heart and was medically discharged this past January, attaining the rank of staff sergeant.

But now, life has become difficult for Wilczk and his family because he cannot work due to not being able to stand for long periods of time and chronic back problems.

"I originally joined the army because of some financial difficulties, but now we're still having problems," he said.

And that's where the American Legion comes in.

Thornberry is the post's Service Officer, meaning he is in charge of helping those veterans who are in need, veterans like Wilczk. The wounded soldier said that the Legion has been very helpful from just the first conversation they had.

"Tim helped get the ball rolling immediately," Wilczk said. "They're just an awesome group of guys there. After the first meeting I left with $200 in cash that they had collected right there."

Now, though the help of Thornberry and the Legion, veterans like Wilczk and others are getting the help they need. Wilczk said that soon he hopes to go to vocational school and one day dreams of doing something in the agriculture business, with the notion of one day owning his own farm.

From helping take him to doctor's appointments to filling out the myriad paperwork, Thornberry has been there every step of the way.

"That's what we're here for because we owe it to him," he said. "There are guys here that served in Vietnam and Korea that also need our help and that's why I like being the Service Officer."

And for the Legion's efforts, Wilczk said he will always be grateful.

"I really can't say enough about what they're doing for me and my family," he said.
- www.gwinnettherald.com

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