Oakes and his men preparing for their first convoy from FOB Q-West to Balad in April 2005.

Oakes at a refueling stop in Iceland on the way to Kuwait, the day after Thanksgiving 2004.

Oakes standing in front of a Blackhawk helicopter.

After returning from Vietnam in 1969, Ron Oakes married, earned a degree in electronics and traveled around the Midwest working. Eventually, he and his family moved back to Michigan, where Oakes joined the National Guard. As part of the Guard, Oakes…

Oakes' superiors and Iraqi commanding general with assistant at a dinner at FOB Q-West in September 2005

Charles Olson was born in Muskegon, Michigan in September of 1921. In 1940, he decided to join the National Guard, and shortly afterward, his unit was federalized and sent to Louisiana to train. He had wanted to fly, so while in Louisiana, he applied…

Part of the Samarra bypass, a wall built around a hostile Iraqi town for protection of the convoys.

Dave Pugh was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1961. Dave was in college during the aftermath of Vietnam, studying music and teaching. He enlisted into the military to be a part of the National Guard Band. He went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for…

Matt Reusch was born in Port Huron, Michigan, in 1985. He joined the Army during his senior year of high school and served briefly with the National Guard until his deployment to Afghanistan with the 3rd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division out of…

Ken Rondeau, born in Grand Rapids Michigan in 1962, served in the National Guard during the 1980s. During this time Ken served mostly as a sergeant training mortar crews.

Ronald Sabin, Jr. was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and joined the Air National Guard in 1981. Ronald went through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for 8 weeks and then went through advanced firefighter training for another 8…

Sandstorm approaching FOB Q-West