IslandVibesIOP.com 18 War is hell and ugly at best. It leaves scars that never heal and stories that go untold. Veterans are the living testaments of valor. Their tales are not just about battles won or lost, but about the quiet moments of humanity that shine through the darkness. Their stories remind us that true bravery is not the absence of fear, but the strength to carry on despite it. In honor of Veterans Day, Isle of Palms VFW Post 3137, aka “The Post on the Coast,” was generous enough to volunteer a few veterans to share their service stories with Island Vibes. Thank you for your service and thanks for letting us tell your tales of valor. MAJOR GEN. MATTHEW LEAIRD Born into a military household, Major Gen. Matthew Leaird grew up listening to war stories from his father. As the son of an A4 Skyhawk Attack Plane Pilot in Vietnam, defending his country was in his genes. He knew from a young age that he was destined to fight his own battles and so he did. By 1980, Leaird had followed in his footsteps, enrolling at The Citadel and later commissioning into the Marines. Though he left active duty in 1988, a distant war had other plans. Just a year later he rejoined the reserves and was activated for a 10-month deployment in Operation Desert Storm in 1990. Leaird was an assault amphibian vehicle commander, leading men into one of the most dangerous and uncertain missions of the war. Their assignment was to storm the shores of Kuwait as a diversion, drawing Iraq’s Republican Guard toward the coastline. The operation came with a likelihood of no return – his unit was warned that casualties could reach 70%. “Until you get shot at you’re just worried,” Leaird said. “Once you get shot at, your training kicks in and you do what you’ve been trained to do. You’re always concerned about dying but you’ve got to perform. You can’t freeze up.” As Leaird’s unit pushed forward, they witnessed scenes that remain burned into his memory. Under orders from former Iraq president and dictator Saddam Hussein, his forces were instructed to torch Kuwait’s oil fields. “The smoke was so thick it blotted out the sun,” Leaird recalled. “You couldn’t see your hand in front of you in the daytime.” Leaird’s team maneuvered through minefields in single-file caravans. Every rumble of their amphibious vehicles carried the possibility of detonation. Leaird was a captain at the beginning of the war and a major by the end of it. He made it through the war unscathed, with the exception of his hearing, which took a toll from tense firefights with Iraqi troops. Yet, the invisible wounds took much longer to heal. On the 30th anniversary of the war, documentaries about Desert Storm stirred up nightmares and flashbacks, pushing Leaird to seek therapy for his post-traumatic stress. “When you’ve seen people literally torn apart and the smell of burnt flesh – those things stick with you,” he said. Today, Leaird continues to honor those who served beside him. “A lot of times,” he reflected, “the people that thank me for my service are people who served themselves.”” U.S. NAVY CAPT MARYALICE MORRO, NC, USN-RET For U.S. Navy CAPT Maryalice Morro, service to her country began with a selfless affinity for helping others. Following her graduation from Villanova University and the Navy’s Officer Indoctrination School, Morro reported for her first assignment at Naval Hospital Bethesda, the start of a 29-year career of active duty that would take her across the world and into the heart of war. “The first 10 years of my career I couldn’t do a lot of stuff that I could do in the latter part of my career because I was female,” Morro admitted. But as fate would have it, she would have her opportunity. Morro’s most defining experience came aboard the USNS Comfort, a 1,000-bed hospital ship deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. For 56 days in the Persian Gulf, the Comfort served as a floating trauma center, FEATURE Tales of Valor IOP veterans share stories of service By Zach Giroux Major Gen. Matthew Leaird U.S. Navy CAPT Maryalice Morro, NC, USN-Ret
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