Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:58 | On his second tour of Iraq, Brandon Dodson was stationed up on the Syrian border. A new crossing had been built so there was a parade of big shots and media coming through which presented some problems for the Marines. He re-enlisted during this tour, then spent some time as a drill instructor, then made his way to a unit he knew was going to Afghanistan. (Caution: strong language)
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His father was a Marine. His grandfather was a Marine. When Brandon Dodson was a freshman in high school and got into ROTC, he knew he would be a Marine, too. The 9/11 attacks came when he was a junior, adding a sense of urgency and purpose to his plan.
Brandon Dodson had been raised around Marines so he was comfortable talking to a recruiter. His father was air wing so he knew he didn't want that. What's this infantry? Well you get to shoot and blow stuff up. Sign me up.
1-4 was just about ready to go. The 1st Battalion, 4th Marines got in some East Coast Marines to fill out their numbers and then boarded a ship for a long, miserable trip to Kuwait. Brandon Dodson couldn't wait to get off that ship but when he did, he stepped into what seemed like an oven. (Caution: strong language)
The ride from Kuwait to Diwaniya was brutal. For 27 hours the convoy of 100 vehicles drove the dusty roads of Iraq. Once the Marines were there, they squared away the base and prepared for action. Brandon Dodson would get to know places like Najaf and Karbala and many forward operating bases. (Caution: strong language)
There was a mosque in the center of Najaf that was a revered holy site. The Marines could watch mortar fire directed at them coming from there, but they could not fire directly at it. During this battle, Brandon Dodson was on the ground and, in an amazing twist of fate, the F-18's supporting him overhead were maintained by someone who had looked after him before. (Caution: strong language)
Brandon Dodson describes the buildings in Iraq he would have to search and clear. A sniper nearly got him in one of those. At this point in the war, booby traps and IED's were not yet a big problem. But, in the battle of Najaf, the Rules of Engagement presented quite a problem. (Caution: strong language)
As the Marines drove out of Najaf after a hard fought battle, they knew they had just been in an historic fight. When they encountered another Marine unit, Brandon Dodson was amazed at what the fresh troops had with them. (Caution: strong language)
There was no Red Bull but there was plenty of chai in Iraq. Marine Brandon Dodson did his part for the local economy by buying lots of chai. The local food was mostly good, too, as were the KBR chow halls. The battalion had arrived on a ship and were very happy they would be flying home when the time came. (Caution: strong language)
It was a totally different war in Afghanistan. Brandon Dodson had two tours in Iraq but this fight was more unnerving. IED's were a big problem and it became a cat and mouse game of design vs. detection. (Caution: strong language)
It was at the end of his second tour in Afghanistan on the very last mission the Marine unit had before they were packing up to leave. Brandon Dodson stepped on an IED which gave him some devastating injuries. He was the squad leader so he kept trying to stand up until the Corpsman handed him something that put an end to that. (Caution: graphic material and strong language)
The hardest part of his recovery for Brandon Dodson was dealing with his young son. He was frightened of dad and all his medical stuff and his wheelchair. It was a long road back from the battlefield but, eventually, he was fitted with good prosthetics and got back to some kind of decent life. (Caution: graphic material and strong language)
The early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom were very rewarding for Brandon Dodson. 9/11 was fresh in his mind and the enemies were authentic bad guys who needed killing. Over the long haul, that naivete would wear down. It is also very rewarding and therapeutic to reunite with his comrades from those days. (Caution: strong language)
