Veteran's 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.

Matthew Wilkins came to the United States from England in 1992. He came over to the US with a buddy so they could go backpacking in the northeastern area of the US. After covering some ground, the friend went back to the UK while Matthew remained in the US.

For some reason, he couldn't get into the British Army. In that he was here, however, he was notified he could be drafted! Matthew really liked the United States of America. He wanted to stay here!

Matthew began contacting a US Army Recruiter. He knew it would be a process. Working closely with the soldier, they gathered all the required documents, passed all the tests and in June 1994, Matthew joined the Army. His aptitude score was very high, allowing him to choose from several career paths. He did fancy the idea of jumping out of airplanes...

The night before leaving for Basic Combat Training, Matthew watched the movie "Full Metal Jacket" so as to prepare himself for the next few weeks. He admitted that watching that movie probably didn't calm his anxieties!

Matthew's best asset was that he was twenty-four years old. His father was a diplomat. His work required frequent moves around the world. He had experienced some things so his perspective was much different than that of one who had just graduated high school.

Training began at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He was put in a leadership position from the start. Entry into Army life was normal. In that he had lived out of a duffle bag for a year prior to this, he felt it was not that difficult.

Once BCT was completed, he moved on to Jump School for four weeks where he learned to jump from perfectly good airplanes. One of the marching cadences goes:

"C-130 sittin' on the strip,

Airborne Daddy's gonna take a little trip..."

The next thirteen weeks were spent in parachute rigging school. Here he learned to prepare and pack all the canvas and nylon material used in airborne operations. It's a useful skill to know and obtain when one is assigned to such a unit using it. One requirement was to pack twenty-five parachutes a day. Matthew mastered it pretty quickly.

Once finished with all the training at this stage in his career, Matt's assignments sent him to Germany, then back to the US at Fort Lewis , WA. Soon, there was another assignment to Germany, then back to the US and to Fort Bragg, NC. He was assigned to a unit in Anchorage, Alaska at Fort Richardson. He worked at Fort Knox, KY. He ended his career in Kentucky.

Matthew was assigned to be a member of Joint Task Force Dagger. He was a parachute rigger (plus about two dozen other tasks) for twelve years. While in Germany, the word came down (orders) that there was a need for four parachute riggers downrange (into the theater of war). He worked with the 5th Special Forces Group, a Special Operations Group, and a few three-letter agencies. Their mission was to take over Kabul (Afghanistan) from the Taliban. Matthew's job was to resupply equipment to forward operating units. It was a busy job because of the "system" in Afghanistan. Warlords in the area bartered their support with requests for equipment.

Matthew was allowed to leave the theater to return to the US because he had an appointment to obtain his US citizenship. He had been in the US Army almost seven years. There was a directive in Army Policy that a soldier had to become a US citizen within eight years of service. The time was creeping up on this soldier. He would be tested on his knowledge of our Country. He studied on the flight to the US. After passing the requirements, he was sworn in and then sent back to service Germany! One of the most memorable events for him was being able to jump with his unit into Normandy, France on 6 June. They completed the jump then reformed as a military unit. The unit then marched to a nearby village where they joined the activities commemorating the date. He left this area of work because he broke his neck on a rather hard landing.

He was sent to Fort Lee, VA to Transportation School. With a change of Military Occupation Skill, (reclassification) he became a transportation coordinator while at Fort Bragg, NC. At this stage in his career, Matthew didn't get a chance to learn much about the transportation field. He had the rank of the slot but hadn't experienced the work. It's an empty feeling.

When ordered to Fort Richardson, AK, he was assigned to be a member of the Personal Security Detail (PSD) for the Commander. He was in a combat support Battalion as part of the 25th Infantry Division. Within three months of being there, the unit was deployed to Iraq.

The 13th Combat Sustainment Command Headquarters flew into Kuwait and moved on to the Mosul area. As a member of the PSD for the Commander, they moved around Iraq in five vehicle convoys. Each trip involved considerable planning and briefings. The Commander, COL Fogg, always had to sit in the front passenger seat of the up-armored HMMV. Matthew was always in the same vehicle, sitting in the rear, operating the radios. The COL had many admirable traits of leadership. He trained constantly with his men. His influence set the pace and purpose of each outing. He would not send his men into harm's way unless it was absolutely necessary.

The orders for deployment to Afghanistan brought an immediate change in Tactics, Planning, and Procedures (TPPs). Prior to each mission, Matthew would go into the Battle Desk in the Operations section and find out what had been happening in the preceding twenty four hours. He made sure the right weapons and ammunition were ready, and that all the rest of the PSD were squared away. This work was completed for every mission. The lethality of the situation was always present. On a particular convoy, the lead vehicle struck an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) resulting in the death of two soldiers plus a significant situation that followed. On another mission, the gunner in the rear vehicle was hit with a Rocket Propelled Grenade and was killed.

In another development of combat, Matthew was manning a checkpoint for incoming trucks and other vehicles. A truck driver stopped his truck and showed the signs of trouble. The man drove the truck toward Matthew and Matthew had no time to get out of the way. He was run over. Although the truck driver did not survive, Matthew was med-evacuated to the nearest medical facility. He sustained major TBI, but returned to his unit. He had no short-term memory.

After 12 plus months in the theater of war, the unit re-deployed to Fort Richardson, AK. Matthew was assigned next to Fort Knox, KY. He formed re-construction teams and trained them to work with indigenous people in Afghanistan in fixing their homes and buildings back up. When the training was completed, Matthew flew with the people into the theater of war, then drove with them to various villages where they would work. He re-deployed to the US to train another group and several other groups after that.

The medical issues finally caught up with this outstanding soldier. From sustaining a crushed spine, a broken neck, multiple leg injuries and more, he was medically retired from the US Army.

Sergeant First Class Matthew Wilkins, a formal salute goes to you! Thank you for such dedicated, selfless service.