Maureen Sullivan Army, Baghdad, Fallujah, Iraq, Kuwait

Joe Shanahan

 

Joe Shanahan joined the Army ROTC at the University of Vermont in 2001 thinking it was a relatively peaceful time to serve in the Army. Sept. 11 changed all that. After extensive training stateside and in Kuwait, Shanahan took part in battles in Baghdad in 2003 and Fallujah in 2005 as an officer in the 3rd Infantry Division. He encountered everything from rocket-propelled grenades to corruption within the Iraqi police and armed forces.

 

 

 

Joe Shanahan in front of monument to Iraq-Iran war

 

Iraqis looting

 

On top of a tank turret
Natick Veterans Oral History Project Army NG, Baghdad, Fallujah, Iraq

Brett Conaway

National Guard 2003-2022

While at Roger Williams University, Brett Conaway joined the ROTC program. Following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, he was called to active duty with the 211th Military Police Battalion of the 772nd Military Police Company, overseeing security at Otis Air National Guard Base and at airports on Cape Cod and the islands off the coast. He was then sent overseas for Operation Iraqui Freedom, where his battalion handled security for a base in Baghdad and conducted missions throughout the Sunni Triangle. A former palace of Uday Hussein became their headquarters. While training police in Fallujah, members of the 211th came under attack, and Conaway helped rescue wounded soldiers. After many years of active duty, Conaway talks about returning home and reuniting with his family.
Brett Conaway with a humvee.
An apartment building in Iraq.
Brett Conaway, inside one of the palaces.
Brett Conaway, at home with his sons

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