Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

In Long Beach, California Dustin Lara was the fifth of six sons born to his parents. The four brothers older than him each joined the US Army. The oldest was deployed to Kuwait and would call home when he could. At age 12, Dustin was in on the phone conversations. He heard the reports of war and in a way, prepared to be a part of it then.

His parents emigrated from Mexico and became American citizens. The children were then first generation American citizens. They knew that if they worked hard, and smart, and persisted, good things would happen. The second oldest brother was deployed to Kosovo when the Kosovo’s governing officials performed ethnic cleansing. He too called home and Dustin heard of what was going on.

The third oldest brother was in the Army at Fort Bragg, NC. He was a member of one of the famous units permanently stationed there, the 82nd Air Borne Division. This brother gave Dustin the advice of how to get through Initial Entry Training (IET), and Advanced Individual Training (AIT).

At age 17, Dustin had graduated from high school and made contact with the local US Army recruiter. Dustin did well on the testing and decided that his best option was to go into the medic field. It had so much more to offer at the end of one’s enlistment. He could become an EMT or CNA, or perform most any second tier work in the medical field.

Dustin was all set. His flight to Columbia, South Carolina and the bus ride on to Fort Jackson, ended when a couple of soldiers boarded the bus to welcome the new soldiers-in-training. The English language instantly changed in its expressive wording and inflections. Loudly, the Drill Sergeants asserted their authority to let these new people know that they were low forms of humanity. Finally, the Drill Sergeants got them off the bus and into a formation so that things could get moving. Dustin knew exactly what to expect…this would be no big deal. Having been a trained boxer earlier, this was going to be kinda easy.

One problem early-on was at the mess hall. Dustin loved food. Any food was just fine. In the basic training environment, the Drill Sergeants “encouraged” new soldiers to shovel the food in and get out of the building and into formation. Seeing all that good food not eaten bothered this soldier.

Dustin’s attitude carried the day for him through IET. He was a confident young man who knew stuff. Other new soldiers would come to him for advice and training so they could get it right. The training there was formatted now for the co-ed environment. Dustin was a busy man.

Basic training came to an end. Family from the east coast made it to his graduation exercises. Next was AIT at Fort Sam Houston, TX. The school for becoming a medic began. There could be a social life again and Dustin took it in. Medic training plus the combat-specific part of the curriculum was 16 weeks.

Next stop, Fort Benning, Georgia where men and women learn to jump out of perfectly good aircraft! Even though his brothers had told him there would be “nothing to it”… it really wasn’t going to be that easy! He got through it fine. A great Can-Do attitude takes one a long ways!

Finally he was finished with training and was assigned to Fort Bragg, NC. He joined up with one of his brothers. He was assigned to a Parachute Battalion and figured out the way ahead. His actual unit of assignment had already deployed to Iraq. Soon, he was on a plane headed there.

Once he married up with his unit, the fact that a war was going on suddenly stuck him. He was at Field Operating Base Brassfield-Mora, in the area of Samara. Here is an eighteen year-old kid, taking cover of safety from incoming munitions. As a medic, he was working in a combat clinic at a forward patrol base. One of the more gruesome tasks was taking care of those Killed In Action (KIA). About 99% of these deceased people were Iraqi soldiers and civilians. Their bodies were stored in body bags and placed in a freezer facility. There were a lot of bodies and limited places to put them. Dustin was to stack them inside the freezer.

Murphy’s Law came into play. For some reason the electricity that kept the freezer functioning went out. Nobody knew about it. Dustin had to put another body inside. When he opened the door, the unbelievable odor of death floored him. Dustin composed himself. In checking the power source, found out the unit was not plugged in. He knows that smell to this day. There was still work to do with the building number of dead so Dustin hung in there doing the best he could.

The unit was soon moved to Patrol Base Olson. The number of casualties kept pace with other places. A child of eight or nine was brought into the medic tent. She had been shot through the neck. The child reminded Dustin of his little sister. Conducting immediate first aid for her was hard for him. He couldn’t make the “stick” so that she could receive medicine through her veins. Finally, he overtly forced himself to make the injection. Sadly the girl could not survive her injuries. They did what they could to save her, but it was too much for her to survive.

In another incident, a crowd of civilians had gathered in front of the first aid station. They wanted medications and/or any other handout that was available. A woman was trying to make her way to the front of the crowd. As she pushed forward, men in the crowd struck her in the face and body. She got to the front of the line and was taken in for an injury plus the bumps and bruises.

In another instance, an Iraqi man had been severely injured. His arms had been blown off his body. When Dustin sought to help the man, the injured guy screamed at Dustin, again and again and again “help me, save me”.

When any of the injured persons were given medical aid and returned to their tribe, the tribe leadership would then kill them. The injured had been with the enemy and may have given up secrets. Their death was easier to take care of than talk. Knowing all this, Dustin began to question just what his mission was. “What he was doing didn’t seem to matter. “

When Dustin was in his sea-hut, decompressing and resting, a mortar round struck very nearby the plywood building. The concussion of the blast knocked him off his bed and rendered him unconscious. This was his first Traumatic Brain Injury. Part of the treatment was for the Drs to prescribe a muscle relaxant so he could sleep. Taking four of these powerful narcotics allowed him to sleep only a few hours.

Once, he awoke from tenuous sleep. He wanted to go outside in the middle of the night. He had his rifle. As he walked, he sees much of what is around him… the Tigris River, the stars above, the fog of war, and, no one else is there but him. He contemplated suicide. He was angry at the people who caused this crappy war, angry at leaders who couldn’t lead, just very, very upset. He was saving people’s very lives so that when they returned to where they lived, they were going to die anyway… He was perilously close to ending it all, but he thought of his strong family and how his death would hurt them all. He returned to safety.

Returning to the work at hand, Dustin would go out on presence patrols and door-kicking work, resulting in a second TBI. More casualties, many more injured. When he would get back to the clinic, he did assigned work and when that was done, mopped the blood off the floors.

The unit re-deployed to the US. Dustin got back to work but was still unsettled. He got enrolled into the World Class Athlete program as a boxer. From Fort Carson, CO, he is a top flight boxer.

However, suicidal ideations seemed to keep creeping back into his mind. He sought some assistance. He had actually met a young lady who helped him through hard times. In that he had such a bleak outlook, she helped all she could. She gave him so much, but things didn’t change. Dustin ended his Army career.

When he returned to civilian life, he continued boxing and making a living. The hole in his soul was still there. He got to another set of circumstances similar to painting himself into a corner. A suicide attempt re-occurred. He again saved his own life.

Dustin earned many medals and ribbons. He saved more lives than he remembers. He is now at the VAMC in Cheyenne, WY.

Corporal Dustin Lara, you are a good soldier. All this will come back into focus for you with some patience and assistance. Thank you for your service, young man.