Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:19 | After being thrown into combat right away, Marine air traffic control technician Nate Winkler's time in Iraq got a little more settled down. He was in country for eight weeks doing his part to set up and operate forward air fields. Then, relief was sent and he came home, which was fine. He'd got his taste of the war. Part 3 of 3.
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His grades were good enough for college, but Nate Winkler was tired of school, so he and a friend enlisted in the Marines the summer before his senior year. Boot camp was right after graduation, then it was off to electronics school for air traffic control and radar tech.
Nate Winkler's first duty was at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point with a small air traffic control unit. He was there when the 9/11 attacks riveted the entire nation. That night, as he patrolled his base in the dark, he remembered something his drill instructor had said about why they had all joined the Marine Corps.
Morale was high on the ship to Kuwait, but Nate Winkler remembers how some were questioning the reasons they were going. Regardless of politics, everyone was anxious to do their jobs in a real world situation. Once there, his job was to set up and operate small air support bases.
Air traffic control technician Nate Winkler got stuck driving the Humvee carrying the Lieutenant in charge of the huge supply convoy traveling north into Iraq. His six man crew was attached to a larger aviation support unit tasked with setting up small forward air support bases. In a twist of fate, he wound up at the point when the enemy appeared. Part 1 of 3.
The convoy had come under Iraqi fire, so the Marines were scrambling to set up a defensive position. Nate Winkler had a technical job, but he was still a Marine in a battle. When his buddy appeared from further back in the column, he had a wound on his face. "I'll tell you later," was all he could get out of him. Later, with the convoy back on the move, there was a grim realization that made everyone feel guilty. Part 2 of 3.
Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom Nate Winkler looks back with pride on the job he and other service members did in that war. However, he's unsure about the lasting value of it, similar to how older veterans feel about their service in Vietnam. He is sure of one thing, the lessons he learned in the Marines guided his life and made it more successful.
