SECOND IRAQ TOUR BRINGS SOLDIER A DARKER OUTLOOK
By Kathy Uek
MetroWest Daily News, MA
May 26 2008
ASHLAND — When Army Reservist John Merguerian returned from his
first tour in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was pleased
with what his civil affairs brigade had accomplished.
Four years later after returning from his second deployment in March,
so upset with death and dying, Sgt. Merguerian asked his mother to
remove knives and scissors from their home.
"He asked me to set the table without knives because of all the
torturing with knives and cutting off heads with knives," said his
mother Dicranuhi Merguerian. "And I hid the scissors."
Born in Framingham and raised in Ashland, the 34-year single soldier
does not like to think about the death toll. But as Memorial Day
approaches, he reflects on the more than 4,000 Americans who have
died in the war.
He thinks about when insurgents hit his base, Camp Liberty, killing
two and injuring 18 while they ate in the chow hall.
He thinks about the three women who died while riding a treadmill
when the gym was attacked at Camp Liberty.
And Merguerian remembers Vartan, a local Iraqi, who worked with him
during his first tour – Iraqi Freedom. Together Vartan and Merguerian
talked to local people. Merguerian, who speaks Armenian and Arabic,
served as an interpreter, supporting Lt. Colonel Byron Dowse on
security and intelligence.
When Merguerian returned to Iraq in 2007, he asked about Vartan.
Vartan, a widower and father of two children 10 and 12, was kidnapped,
tortured and killed – his body thrown in the street as an example of
what happens when Iraqis work with Americans, said the 1992 Ashland
High School graduate.
When Merguerian compares what he accomplished from 2003 to 2004 to
the last two years, he gets frustrated.
"The first tour was about reconstruction – fixing the water pipes,
building schools, but during my second tour a lot of that had been
scrapped because of security," he said. "It was too dangerous to
go outside the wire (base). The first time I traveled all over
Iraq. The second time, I could only travel on a helicopter, but
only occasionally, because the insurgency has weaponry to hit
helicopters. The second time wasn’t fulfilling."
During the second tour, Merguerian worked with another local Iraqi, who
kept him informed because the soldier could not go outside the wire.
"He has a 13-year-old son," said the 11-year veteran of the
military. "He is threatened because he works with Americans."
When speaking of the war, Merguerian believes in staying the
course. "But there has to be a plan set forth in what needs to be done
to settle the situation," he said. "I’ve heard local Iraqis complain
that the American government caters to the current Iraqi government."
Fighting back tears, Merguerian’s mother, a native of Jordan, said
she understands the culture and feels frustrated, too. "Those people
don’t know what freedom is. In the ’50s they tied their own King
Faisal to the tail of an animal and dragged him through town.
"Faisal’s brother, King Abdullah, was the past king of Jordan. I know
the history. These are corrupt people."
"It can’t be democratized," her son added.
Like his younger brother, Edward, who served in the military, John
signed up for the reserves while a junior at UCLA. "I wanted to do
something challenging," he said.
That was 1997. Merguerian felt prepared. From 2001 to 2002, he served
with the Armenian Volunteer Corps teaching English to disadvantaged
Armenian locals. He studied Arabic and political science at UCLA in
a joint program with the University of Egypt. From 1992 to 1993,
he volunteered as a teacher’s aid at Blackstone Elementary School
with City Year, Boston’s urban peace corps.
"It gave me insight into the city and prepared me for what the real
world is like," Merguerian. "It prepared me to some degree."
Now safely back home, his mother expressed both her happiness and
sadness.
"I’m happy he’s home in one piece," she said. "But I’m sad for
the hundreds of mothers who aren’t enjoying their children this
minute. When he returned, we met him at the airport with flowers and
balloons. The mothers whose children died didn’t have that moment. They
saw them when they were wrapped in a flag instead. Sometimes I sit
and cry. My heart goes out to the mothers whose sons and daughters
sacrificed their lives. They won’t be forgotten."