By Courtney Elisech
In the United States, Veterans Day is a federal holiday to honor those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, observed on Nov 11. Some veterans celebrate by telling stories and sharing memories. Take a trip down memory lane with Michigan veteran Gregory Symons.
SAGINAW – The year was 1982, when 18-year-old Gregory Symons joined the Army Reserves as a combat nurse, later becoming a practical nurse.
“Why did I join? I needed college money, and there were no jobs, the unemployment rate was over 20%,” Symons said. “I also felt very patriotic. Our new president at the time, Ronald Regan, restored patriotism in America.”
The first war Symons served in was the Gulf War. In his lifetime career of active duty and the reserves, he was stationed in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the Netherlands, Central America, and Peru.
Symons experienced active combat more than once in his career.
“I have been under fire over 30 times. Mostly missiles, some artillery, and some small arms. I have not been wounded, but I have been nerve gassed,” Symons said.
Symons, 58, joined the retired reserves around 2006, which means he could be called to duty if needed until his 60th birthday. He has been fortunate enough never to be called from retirement.
In Desert Storm, he was a Staff Sergeant and a Lieutenant in the Iraqi conflict. His current rank is Captain.
Symons shared a variety of memories, stories, and photographs from his time in the service.
“As far as the war goes, there’s a lot of things that I don’t really feel comfortable talking about but other things that I do enjoy talking about,” Symons said.
“One thing, in particular, was that we were not getting enough food for a while because of supply line problems,” Symons said. “We were getting one meal per day and a couple slices of bread, which theoretically is enough calories for one day. However, when you are working 16 to 18 hours a day, it wasn’t nearly enough.”
Being fluent in Arabic set Symons apart from others in the military. Less than a hundred people in the U.S. Army were able to do this at the time. It made him very useful to the military and his fellow soldiers.
“Speaking Arabic, I went out on the market and bought lots of food for my fellow soldiers and I. Some of the food was a mystery, we will never know what it was that we ate,” Symons said. “We do know we had a lot of camel and parts of a goat.”
Most of the Arabic people that Symons met were wonderful.
“I was very fortunate as someone who spoke Arabic. I was able to eat dinner at several family tables of Saudi Arabians,” Symons said.
The heat was another problem for Symons and his fellow soldiers. The thermometer that was in the shade registered over 130 degrees for multiple days in a row.
“Our boots were black. Black absorbs heat, a lot of it. We would have to pour water on our boots to avoid our toes and feet burning. That is how hot it got,” Symons said.
In addition to the heat exposure, Symons recalled a time when the air was so full of dirty smoke that when he hung his uniform out to dry, it was dirtier than before he washed it.
“Towards the end of Jan. 1991, Saddam Hussein started lighting oil wells in Kuwait on fire. Hundreds of them were lit on fire,” Symons said. “Half the time, the wind would blow the smoke towards us. There were many days that you could not see the sun.”
A haboob is a violent wind and sandstorm. At one point in his career, sandstorms were a constant occurrence.
“Sandstorms! We couldn’t go a week without having a sandstorm. It was off and on and hard to breathe. The dirt would be in your teeth and your nose and in your eyes. There wasn’t much you could do about it,” Symons remembered.
The unit Symons was in was a split of men and women, over 50% being women.
“Of course, this meant there were relationships that probably shouldn’t be happening,” Symons said. “It was like something out of a bad soap opera. But not me. I was 100% business during war. I didn’t want any girlfriends or drama or anything. I just wanted to make it home so I could see my mom and dad and my daughter.”
How was returning to civilian life?
“It was bizarre!” Symons said.
Imagine spending almost a year in Saudi Arabia, only seeing women fully covered from head to toe. On the tarmac, the temperature is 123 degrees in the shade.
Imagine being the last person to step onto the 747, it is 72 degrees inside, and the stewardess is wearing miniskirts.
This was the exact situation Symons found himself in on the day he returned home to civilian life.
“There was a welcome home sign walking onto the plane. Just like that, they shut the door, and in an instant, I was home,” Symons said.
The drastic change from extreme heat to air conditioning was difficult to adjust to.
“I almost froze to death on the plane,” Symons said. “When we arrived at Kennedy Airport, everybody cheered as we exited the plane. It was really strange.”
Returning home, Symons discovered his job at Saginaw General hospital had been given to another. He fought for his position and went to the Vice President of Nursing.
“She was unaware of the situation. She told me whatever job I wanted was mine. Of course, I asked her for the vice president job. We laughed, and I ended up taking a Resource Team position,” Symons said.
The Resource Team is a float pool of nurses and nursing assistants at Covenant HealthCare, where Symons still works. He is a Reach RN, a rapid response nurse, and a Shift Administrator currently. He lives in St. Charles with his wife, Barbara, and their children.
Covenant HealthCare holds a flag-raising ceremony on Veterans Day each year to honor and recognize staff members who have served. Symons proudly joins the ceremony and his fellow veterans, if available.
“To me, Veterans Day is a day to get a free burger in the cafeteria,” Symons joked, “But really it feels good to know that some in this country have gratitude. I did what I did because I love my country and all the people.”
Veterans Day can mean something a little different to each person. For those who have served, it is a day to remember and reminisce with old friends. For others, it is a time to be thankful for those willing to risk their lives in service of this country.
Try to find a new way to celebrate this year. Instead of saying Happy Veterans Day, start up a conversation. What is an experience that impacted them? Why did they join? You will be surprised by the stories you get to hear.
