BAY CURRENTS: How did you feel about being there?
CORDOVA: My feelings toward being in Iraq were that of excitement. I was 23 years old and naive at the time. I was a machine gunner in the Marine Corps infantry, and to go into combat is what all infantrymen strive for -- we call combat “theater” because it’s our Big Show!
BC: What was it like to be in Iraq?
CORDOVA: Iraq is a beautiful country. The weather is like nothing I have ever experienced -- there were times when the temperature reached 130 degrees, and at night the temp would drop to 90 degrees and we felt cold! Sandstorms were occasional treats we had to endure when we were on patrol or conducting a combat operation.
BC: What was your job there?
CORDOVA: I was a machine gunner in the infantry. My battalion was spread out in the Al Anbar province, in the “death triangle.” My platoon was located in a city named Heet, and we worked out of a forward observation base. We were tasked with maintaining presence and to root out all insurgents that had fled from Fallujah to Heet, and foreign fighters coming in from Syria. Our mission was to train Iraqi forces and provide security to the Iraqi people in Heet.
BC: How did you feel about coming back home to your family?
CORDOVA: Coming home was a bit unnerving; I was wounded in Iraq and medically evacuated to Germany then back to the U.S. Being home was definitely a good thing, but knowing that my fellow Marines were still in Iraq made me nervous and I worried every day. I was injured on August 1, 2005 and was back in the U.S. within a week. I spent two years in the hospital for rehabilitation and was finally home in February 2007. Being home with loved ones is great; realizing how much your family loves you is a great gift.
Adjusting back home was very difficult. I did not want to speak to anyone that wasn’t from my unit. I felt comfortable only around fellow veterans -- I became very anti-social. I was disgusted about how the American people did not care about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The [network] news was reporting idiotic things such as celebrity breakups. Not once was there a strong segment about Marines fighting and dying in Iraq.
