Caledonia Argus

Caledonia man gets warm welcome home from Iraq

Posted: 1/6/04

By David Heiller
Argus News Editor

David Fink, Caledonia, returned from an eight month deployment in Iraq in December. He was a specialist with Army Reserve 353 Transportation Company in Buffalo, Minnesota. In Iraq he hauled fuel for transportation vehicles.
Fink, who turned 21 on January 2, is the son of the Rev. Tony and Joleen Fink of Caledonia. He talked to The Argus about his experience on December 31.

Argus: What was a typical day like?

Fink: It would start about five in the morning, Weíd get ready for a mission, go out to the motor pool, get our truck, usually leave about seven, drive anywhere from six to 10 hours, to wherever our mission was. Once weíd get to the camp, weíd drop our fuel in bladders in the ground. Weíd stay overnight in that camp and leave the next morning, go back to our camp, and do it all over again.

Did you ever have any close calls?

Yeah, we received small arms fire a few times, and we got hit with a couple of IEDs -- that stands for improvised explosive devices. A lot of convoys were getting hit with IEDs. Thereís a stretch out of Bagdad we called Suicide Alley. Everyday someone would get hit, whether it was our company or another company.

Did anyone you knew get hurt?

In our unit nobody got seriously hurt or killed, but in the units that we worked with, a couple people died and a lot of people got injured. We were like one of the only companies that didnít take any casualties.

What was the most difficult thing about your job?

Feeling that we werenít appreciated by the civilians. Pretty much thatís the feeling all across the army. Weíre doing all this and at the same time, theyíre undoing a lot of progress. We can only help them so much.

Were there other things?

A lot of hours, not much sleep. Driving isnít a physical thing, but it does take a lot out of you. When the war first started we had hardly any sleep whatsoever.

Was the weather a challenge?

During the summer, June July and August, [temperatures were in the] 140s, 150s. We were averaging three to four heat casualties a mission. I was what we called a combat life saver because I had some medical training. I carried a bag and administered IVs.

Did you ever have any problem with dust?

That was a constant problem. Every day from 10 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon, like clockwork.
It got real bad. It messes with your vehicles, your morale. Everything gets buried. Thereís nothing that can stop it. You come back from a mission and you have about an inch of sand on your cot.

What were living conditions like?

It really depends on what part of the war. Like in the beginning, it was terrible. No showers for over 30 days. We slept on top of our trucks, ate MREs. And the water was hot that we drank. We eventually got tents but there were about 30 people a tent, so you had about six inches of space between you and the next guy. Eventually we got showers and a mobile kitchen. Eventually we moved camp and built up camp a little bit. About a month or two months before I left, we started getting air conditioned tents and a regular chow hall, regular showers, regular bathrooms, Internet service. As it progressed it got a lot nicer.

What were some of the more rewarding things about the job?

I think the children. Everybody had a lot of fun with the children, giving them food or water. Basically everything that we didnít need or want, we gave to the children. They really liked us.. You could tell they were happy we were there. We did first aid on a kid that got hit with some shrapnel. That was rewarding, to be able to help out a child like that.

Are there other things that were positive?

Just being able to help a whole country that desperately needed help. The only things I can compare it with are the poverty parts of Mexico. Itís way worse than that even. I agree with us being over there 100 percent. To see how Saddam ran the country, everybodyís poverty stricken, but heís got palaces all over the place. And driving from Kuwait to Iraq, itís two totally different countries. Iraq could be just as wealthy. Everybodyís driving Mercedes and BMWs in Kuwait. Everybodyís still riding donkeys in Iraq.

What do you think youíll remember the most about your experience there?

Probably the people I served with, friendships. Probably all of it in general, the whole desert situation. Iíll definitely remember the sandstorms and the heat, thatís for sure.

What did you miss the most from home?

Family and friends of course. Then every once in a while you miss the little things you have, doing things you want, free time. Just being able to drive your own car, listen to the radio, watch TV. Fresh air, definitely missed the fresh air. Grass and trees.

Any more thoughts on the political aspects of it?

To me thereís no doubt that we should be there, whether there was weapons of mass destruction or not. There was a lot of evidence that there was. I believe we had good reasons. Itís something that needed to take place because of abuse of power. He [Saddam Hussein] was obviously not a good person to have in charge. I think itís also going to be a gateway to other countries, that things can go better than they are.

Do you see any positives coming from the people as far as their acknowledgement of whatís going on?

It really depends on what town youíre going through. Certain areas they donít like you as much as they do in other areas. This town will like you and this town definitely wonít. In which case you just keep driving.

What kind of a reaction have you gotten from people back home?

Everybodyís been real nice to me. Everybodyís welcomed me home real good and said thank you for all Iíve done. Itís a different story from the Twin Cities to down here. Actually the day I got home I was wearing my uniform and I went to go buy some civilian clothes, got a lot of looks, some of them were good, some of them were bad. Definitely down here in Caledonia everybodyís been nice.

What will you do now?

Iíll stay here a while and be with my family. Probably next fall Iím going to go back to college at the U. of M.

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