 | » Tips for Teachers |  |
March 22, 2003
Veterans, now coaches, recall first Gulf war
By STEVE MASTER | News-Journal Staff Writer
PORT ORANGE — Spruce Creek High baseball coach Johnny Goodrich doesn´t need television analysts to describe what U.S. ground forces might encounter as they march across the desert toward Baghdad.
A gunner on a Bradley fighting vehicle during Operation Desert Storm 12 years ago, Goodrich weathered the frequent sandstorms he describes as “hurricane-like conditions” that limited visibility to 10-15 feet.
He endured a “crazy” battle with Saddam Hussein´s Medina Republican Guard, and went 100 hours without sleep as his Army battalion steamrolled through the desert toward its objectives.
“You said your prayers and you hoped that when you went (into battle) you would be accurate, swift, and that your preparation was that much better than theirs,” Goodrich said before his team´s practice session Wednesday.
“Fortunately for us, it seemed like it was 1,000 times better. And our equipment seemed like it was 1,000 times better.”
The superior firepower – said to be far greater in this Gulf war – provides a significant measure of comfort to the soldiers, Goodrich said.
His Bradley was flanked by a wall of tanks as far as he could see, and air support was swift and devastating during his battalion´s initial encounter with the well-armed Republican Guard.
“We lit into them pretty good and they started dropping artillery on us,” Goodrich recalled. “We backed up about 1,000 or 1,200 meters and called an air strike, and it was one of the most amazing sights I´ve ever seen.
“Just watching the aircraft drop those bombs and evade the ground-to-air missiles like they did,” he said. “Their maneuverability was amazing. An air show does no justice to what those aircraft can do.”
But for all the military might, Goodrich and his fellow soldiers learned the unpredictability of war as well. His brigade lost tanks and personnel in an ensuing battle only hours later.
“That´s when the reality hit that this could be the day that you die,” said Goodrich, a 1988 New Smyrna Beach High grad. “You´re talking about guys just out of high school. You´re 18 years old, thinking your whole life can be cut short.”
Deltona High softball coach Scott Smith is trying to suppress the same thoughts. His son, Chad, shipped out to the Gulf on Thursday. Chad Smith, 24, is an Air Force firefighter – the same position held by Scott Smith for 20 years.
Smith´s other son, Van, 21, served a five-month stint during the war in Afghanistan. He, too, is an Air Force firefighter and is currently on standby in Charleston, S.C.
“I would rather go than my kids,” said the 47-year-old elder Smith, who was called up for Desert Storm but never shipped out. “I´ve lived. In a way, I think the system is messed up. They haven´t had their lives yet.”
Goodrich worries a greater number of young lives will be cut short in this war. Though ground forces have encountered little resistance so far, he believes a ground battle in Baghdad, which was not attacked during Desert Storm, will be bloodier than anything he encountered.
“If they literally have to go into Baghdad and take the city, you´re going to see a lot more casualties,” Goodrich said. “There´s going to be some serious urban warfare.”
Goodrich was glued to the television when the first missiles flew Wednesday night, paying special attention to the ground forces awaiting their call to arms along the Iraq-Kuwait border.
“It allowed me to relive some of the thoughts I had,” said Goodrich, whose wife, 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter slept as he watched the war unfold from his living room. “There was that anticipation of what was to come, not really knowing what was out there.
“You´re going through the bomb alerts every four or five hours, not getting a whole lot of sleep, trying to overcome your fears. It´s a time you want to be brave, but you´re just not really sure what your opponent´s going to be like.”
News-Journal Staff Writer Bob Pockrass contributed to this report.