NEXT GENERATION
The changing face of Veterans Day
The reminders of Cody Wyatt’s days in Iraq sometimes come in the most unusual ways. There is the occasional dizziness, and sometimes his vision is blurry. But the one he can’t quite figure out comes when he signs his name.
“I stutter a little bit with my Ws,” the 34-year-old Broken Arrow native said.
Wyatt joined the U.S. Army in 2002 on the heels of 9/11. He trained at Fort Benning in Georgia and deployed to Iraq in 2003, spending a year there, often riding in Stryker combat vehicles. The large armored trucks sitting on massive wheels weigh up to 20 tons, but are faster than tanks.
But nothing is impervious to attack. Wyatt was riding in a Stryker when a roadside bomb went off, giving him a concussion. Later, after his deployment ended, doctors diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury.
“I remember getting hit and blacking out,” Wyatt said. “When I came to I saw nothing but stars.”
While Veterans Day often conjures up images of aging veterans standing at attention at wreath ceremonies across the United States, the ranks of younger men and women who served in the War on Terror now stands at nearly 3 million.
As World War II and Korea veterans slip into the ages and their Vietnam-era sons and daughters enter their twilight years, these are the veterans America will honor in the decades to come.
Eager to join
Wyatt was a groundskeeper at a golf course when the Twin Towers came down in New York in 2001. He stood in the clubhouse watching the attack unfold.
“I was a healthy young man, and I remember feeling maybe I should do something to help,” he said.
He knew he would probably be deployed overseas. What he didn’t expect was to find himself serving during one of the most violent and dangerous times of the war. Wyatt served in Iraq from November 2003 to November 2004.
“It was a really bad year casualty-wise,” he said. “I think it was the second worst year the whole time we were there. A lot of stuff happened. Saddam was caught, and some other high value targets as well.”
Wyatt stayed in the Reserves until 2012. Now in his 30s with a wife and young children, he looks back on his service and Veterans Day with the perspective only age brings.
“I think now I relate to it a little more,” he said. “When I got out, I would go to the VFW and I was the youngest guy there. Now there are men and women who look a lot younger than I do.”
Wyatt attended a Veterans Day assembly at his children's school, and he uses the day to reflect on his time in the military, often calling buddies he served with to make sure they’re doing OK. He’s already instilling the value of service to his kids. The family usually decorates service members' graves with flags on Memorial Day.
“I see it as a day to honor the people who served before me, with me and after me,” he said. “Whether it’s Veterans Day or Memorial Day, I want my kids to know about what it means to serve and how those that came before them have given their lives to ensure they have the life they have.”
An easy sell
Jessica Rose Hammack, 28, badgered the Marine Corps recruiter to death during her senior year at McLoud High School. While her friends were planning for a life in college or the workforce, she was dreaming of Marine dress blues.
She got her wish in 2007 when she shipped out to California to begin basic training. It was a disaster. During boot camp, she suffered a serious knee injury that took years to diagnose and would ultimately derail her hope of deploying overseas.
She served instead as an administrative specialist helping to process deployments of fellow Marines overseas. She spent four years in the service, and to this day celebrates the Corps’ Nov. 10 birthday with a whiskey on the rocks and a cigar.
“It gave me a sense of purpose,” she said. “It is a brotherhood and a sisterhood that is life-changing. I may never have deployed, but I’m still a Marine forever.”
Despite the knee injury that later caused damage to her pelvis and a car accident that shattered vertebrae in her back, Hammack is still active. She and her husband, Andrew, a Navy veteran and brain tumor survivor, lead a veteran’s rowing team in Oklahoma City. She won a bronze medal in track and field at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto.
Today, she works with the state Department of Health educating Oklahomans on the dangers of opioid abuse and addiction. She also volunteers for Honoring America’s Warriors, an organization that helps veterans and their families through an array of services.
“I try to honor veterans every day,” she said. “But to me, it’s a day that you can use to reflect on your own service but also those who came before you. So many of my family served and I was just part of that, which was an honor that I’ll never forget.”
Legacy matters
This is the first Veterans Day that Gordon Rodgers can remember in his adult life that he wasn’t a member of the military. For 30 years Rodgers, 55, served in the Oklahoma National Guard. He retired in April.
He took part in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the first of five overseas deployments and three stateside missions. Rodgers served as a “cook on the run” during Desert Storm. He remembers traversing the "Highway of Hell" where the U.S. military decimated a column of Iraqi soldiers.
In later deployments to Iraq, he oversaw contractors providing services to American bases. His retirement left him feeling a bit out of sorts. Today, he works for the U.S. Marshals Service transporting prisoners.
“It’s weird to be out,” he said. “I miss some of the soldiers I served with. One of the big reasons I stayed in for so long was because of my friends. There’s a bond that is developed over time.”
In his eyes, Veterans Day isn’t just about honoring service members.
“It’s a day to recognize the sacrifice of all the men and women who have given their lives for us, but also to recognize their families,” he said. “I don’t think people realize how much families sacrifice when their loved ones are called to serve. So many in my family served and I’m proud to have carried on that legacy.”
A patriotic kid
Growing up in Coweta, Kodey Hewitt loved watching war movies along with a steady diet of cartoons. He enlisted in the Army in 2005, right after high school.
“I was really patriotic at an early age,” he said. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do when I got out of high school.”
The 30-year-old started out in the Reserves, and later decided to go on active duty. He spent time at Fort Sill and later deployed to Camp Liberty near Baghdad. He served as a petroleum supply specialist, testing fuel quality and accompanying often-hazardous fuel convoys.
“You were always on edge,” he said. “We had a few scares. We definitely had our fair share of incidents.”
Veterans Day is special to Hewitt. He uses it to stay connected with those he served with. They usually go to a parade then grab dinner later in the day.
“It’s a time for me to celebrate with my battle buddies and brothers in arms,” he said. “We joke around a lot. We’re all comfortable with each other. We mostly talk about the good things, but we also talk about more delicate topics, things we went through, and those who we lost.”
Hewitt said he relates most to other veterans, and often, those are his closest friends. But he does like hearing from nonveterans. While “thank you for your service” has almost become cliché, it still matters.
“It’s great for others to show respect by attending a parade,” he said. “It doesn’t take much, and it means a lot to me, and I’m sure it means a lot to others, too.”