Ranger's experience nothing like on TV

September 20, 2004

BY MARY LANEY

What was it like? Iraq looks a lot different than poolside behind a Winnetka home. It's worlds away from the mountains of Afghanistan. But Eric Leahy could tell me about what it was like in those faraway countries. Leahy's an Army Ranger from the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment -- the first unit to parachute into Afghanistan and Iraq with just their wits and a hundred pounds of equipment on their backs. He has recently returned from four tours of duty: two in Afghanistan and two in Iraq.

He's visiting old high school friends and readjusting to life in mufti. That's how he came to be sitting -- in a T-shirt and jeans -- beside a friend's swimming pool in Winnetka, and how I came to be talking with him.

When I asked him what it had been like, he didn't talk about the heroics he and his fellow Rangers had been through, didn't brag about the medals he's won. He simply said, ''We're doing a lot of good.'' When I asked if he had been in firefights, he answered my naive question with a simple, ''I've been shot at.''

Leahy's only 23 but has a presence and maturity rare at his age. And his presence is daunting. He stands 6 feet tall with blond hair, blue eyes and a physique that one would call ''buff.'' He even appears to have muscles in his forehead. But it's his clarity and self-confidence that stand out. When he stands, he stands tall. When he walks, it's a walk of someone who now knows who he is.

''I was a 19-year-old kid with no direction. In basic training, I began to realize how hard these people work, how long and difficult this country's history has been. I had taken for granted all the freedoms I enjoyed and I felt proud to be a part of something so important and yet received so little recognition, at least before 9/11.''

It has been an adjustment for Leahy returning home, especially when he watches television news.

''What they're reporting has nothing in common with what I saw over there. Nothing. People back here think Iraqis and Afghanis are at war with Americans. It's just not true. The terrorists are killing Afghanis and Iraqis. For every American who's died, they've killed 25 of their own. They're killing their own people, not just American soldiers.

''When I was over there, not everybody liked us. But people would come up and offer us the food they had to feed their family for a week, or the water they had, and village elders would talk with us. But when you come back here, it's a whole different story.''

''Peter Jennings [of ABC News] was giving a live report in Baghdad when he noticed a Humvee stopped in traffic went over the curb and drove away. Jennings said the soldiers must think they're above the law. It wasn't that. The Humvee had no turret, no gun; it was getting out of a possibly bad situation.'' The young Ranger shakes his head at the reports just showing fighting instead of all the good over there: the schools built and open, the hospitals operating, the water that's now running, the electricity that's been repaired after years of neglect.

Leahy says he and his fellow Rangers had children coming up to them, laughing and thanking them.

''In Baghdad, they were all little entrepreneurs selling cigarettes and DVDs.''

He says he felt good when he saw young women able to walk outside, but sad to see them hunched over after years of having to carry heavy loads and stay indoors. There were tense times as well -- times when senses must be acute.

''One Holy Night, the Iraqis were cooking in the streets, local militia were on corners with AK-47's for miles. We didn't know if we could trust them or not as we drove through. We were turning a corner. I was watching, my weapon ready. All of a sudden an AK went off. I saw it was an accident. The man's weapon was pointed at the ground and went off. We drove on.''

I asked him how he deals with such sharpened senses since he returned home. His answer spoke volumes.

''My first week home, I was at a friend's wedding in California and still in the mind-set of paranoia, looking around a lot. I was out on the balcony overlooking an intersection and a stoplight.

"Cars were actually stopping at the light, no shots fired, no car bombs exploding, no one dragged from a car and burned by terrorists, no one fearful for their life. It made me feel good. It helped give reason for what I've done. To come back and watch a simple stoplight and see people here have lives where they don't have to fear that kind of thing. I don't think people realize just how lucky they are to live here.''

Perhaps not.

Leahy plans to enroll in college now. Once there, here's hoping he'll tell them -- tell them how lucky we all are.

Thank you, Eric Leahy, and welcome home.

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