Sophomore Josh Goss and his mother, Teresita, talk with Jennifer Lashley, a Hard– ing public relations writer, about his duty as a Marine in Iraq. Josh Gass served in the Marines and spent seven months on a peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. (Photo by Amy Beene) A day in the life of a Marine seemed to consist of numbers. • J s Sophomore Josh Gass was a student, a soldier, a fighter and a Christian. Spending seven months overseas, Goss was ooe of 900 Marines to report for active duty on the Iraqi battlefront inMarch 2003. Goss defined patriotism as "honor and pride inone's country." With this definition in mind, he left his friends and family behind and joined others in the war against terrorism. Once activated, Goss traveled to the 29 Palms base in California to begin training. At 05:00 hours an eight-hour workday began for more than 150 men. A 5-mile hike loaded downwith more than 85 pounds of equipment inan average temperature of 115 degrees caused soldiers to hunger for their prepackaged meals made in1987. The postal service averaged a two-month turn around, and phone calls were permitted every two weeks for five minutes. Every day at 11 p.m., Goss climbed in a bunk next to his band of brothers and thought of the 7,397 miles that separatedhim from American soil. However, crunching those numbers didn't leave the men indisappointment. "Some of the guys were really excited, and morale ran high," Goss said. "Some had been waiting their whole lives for this chance to serve." "Some of the Goss worked in several areas of Marine reserve service while in Iraq. He worked in an urban patrol police force as part of a peacekeeping team where he talked through translators to local Iraqis and played with children. "The children came up to us most often," Goss said. "They weren't afraid to climb all over us, put on our helmets or try to teach us a game. The sad part was the fact that they would be in the same T-shirt we saw them in yesterday, hungry and barefoot, covered in the sewage that ran outside their houses. That was alsoa reminder of why we were there." Being that far away from home and in those conditions tested and strengthened Goss' faith "You re-evaluate your life on those quiet nights of patrol," Goss said. "The people were so spiritually hungry. Their examples caused a lot of Marines to get spiritually right with God." Dr. Noble Goss, professor of Spanish, and Teresita Goss, Josh's parents, were thankful to see their son home safe toward the end of the summer. "He's a part of me," Teresita Goss said. "And I felt when he left, a part of me left." Upon his return to school for the fall semester of 2003, Josh Goss was "pretty well adjusted" after one month. guys were really excited, and morale ran high. Some had been waiting their whole lives for this chance to serve." -- sophomore Josh Goss "The first two weeks were hard," Josh Goss said. " j would close myself up; there were some things that you just couldn't talk about. j still catch myself watching people's hands if I'm in a large crowd and scanning the rooftops when Igo outside." By~A juniors II 65
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