By JEFF BILLINGTON World Staff Writer
9/30/2007
Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Beach says his family was at the center of his decision to join the U.S. Army.
Beach, a 1991 graduate of Mannford High School, was working for a local cemetery where he sold plots and gravestones. It was 1997, just after he and his wife Melissa had married and she had given birth to their first child.
"He got a fever, and we couldn't afford to go to the doctor," Beach said during a recent telephone interview.
His son soon got better, but Beach said he wanted to provide his family with the things they needed, when they needed them.
"I wanted to do more for my family," he said.
After talking to some soldiers, he decided the military was the direction he needed to follow.
Beach, 35, is a broadcast journalist with a mobile public affairs detachment of the 1st Cavalry Division at Camp Liberty, Iraq, located near Baghdad International Airport.
The mobile public affairs detachment where Beach is assigned was deactivated after the Vietnam War but reactivated after the war began in Iraq.
At Camp Liberty, Beach supervises eight other soldiers who serve as broadcast and print
"My job is to make sure my men know what they're getting into and to tell the soldiers' story," he said.
He also served in Kuwait in 2000-01 and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002.
One of the most painful tasks that Beach performs is reporting on the loss or injury of a fellow soldier.
"I write press releases about soldiers' deaths and injuries, and I've personally written too many of those," he said.
"But one recent thing I was able to report on was an Iraqi police graduation where some of those who graduated were insurgents, people who were fighting us at one time," he said. "After four years of fighting, it's like they said, 'What are we fighting for?'
"To see them graduate, and with their chests all barrelled out and proud, it was pretty awesome."
Beach said he will have lasting memories from his time in the Middle East, but two instances stand out: seeing Najaf turned back over to the locals, and seeing a U.S. military vehicle explode after crossing an improvised explosive device.
"I went to Najaf when they turned over a section of the city back to the Iraqis. I've never seen anybody as proud as those Iraqi people were at that time, and it didn't get any media coverage," he said.
"We slowly were able to restore electricity and get the sewage system working, and it's been very stable since then. I was able to take photos and do a story on it, but there was so little media coverage given to it back home.
"There's such a focus on violence. If there's a suicide car bomb that explodes and kills half a dozen people, that's where the focus is. The good things that go on don't get that much coverage."
When the military vehicle crossed over the IED, the vehicle was thrown through the air and flipped several times, Beach said.
"The vehicle drove over a buried IED and it exploded, trapping people underneath. Essentially, I was watching it as it happened. That will haunt me for the rest of my life."
Fortunately, Beach has not experienced combat duty. Camp Liberty is near several of Saddam Hussein's elaborate palaces. The land behind the camp was a former hunting reserve, and there is a nearby lake that Beach is able to jog around each morning around 6 a.m.
"It's really a beautiful lake. But there's a lot of bugs, and with the bugs brings bats. It's quite entertaining to watch," he said.
He is looking forward to seeing his wife and two children, who await him at Fort Hood, Texas. Although he spent a short two weeks at home in January, he is ready to begin spending time watching his children grow.
He is able to send e-mails and make phone calls, but being there means much more, he said.
Beach also is attempting to complete his master's degree after receiving his bachelor's degree in humanities with an emphasis on history from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He is taking correspondence courses through California State University.
"I just have to finish my thesis, and then I'm done," he said.
Beach said many times he has thought he made a wrong decision in joining the military. But those times are behind him now.
"I was going to get out of the Army because I felt I didn't get the promotions, ribbons or medals I thought I should have received. But serving my country is my point -- I do what the commander-in-chief tells me to do. I don't question his orders," he said. "Since I've been in the Army and since 9/11, the promotions, medals and ribbons don't mean that much to me anymore.
"This is the career I've chosen for now. At this age in my life, I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing."
