Blue Ridge School graduate, Retired Sergeant in the U.S. Army, stay-at-home dad turned Community Outreach Coordinator and Student Recruiter for the University of Illinois Chez Veterans Center tells his story of a post-September 11th war with humor and zero regrets.

 Listen as Garrett talks about 130-degree days in full body armor, marrying his now wife of 17-plus-years on a whim just days before deployment, trying to build relationships with Iraqis while never knowing a good guy from a bad guy with an AK-47 and how it wasn’t uncommon for women and children to literally become human bombs in the name of their religion. In a few months Garrett would see and experience more pain than most will see in a lifetime, yet he lives with no regrets. He lights up when he talks about coaching at area schools, his daughters and his wife, local attorney, Sami. He tears up when he talks about a fellow soldier and friend who could never recover from the injuries that Garrett sustained in an ambush—a severely broken jaw and a lost arm. His friend, Sonny, blamed himself to the point of no return. Through all this pain and remembrance, he still maintains a positive disposition as he recounts the way he always has to face the door at a restaurant in an effort to maintain vigilance. As Memorial Day approaches, think of Garrett and all other soldiers who fought for our freedoms—some returned forever changed and some never returned. 

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