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Summer-Fall 2008: A Heavy Sum The price of war in the Yampa Valley by Ken Wright We have a lot of fun here in Steamboat Springs. So it’s easy to forget that far away from our peaceful valley, Americans are fighting on the frontlines of two bloody wars, risking everything. Whether you’re for or against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the conflicts have found a way to exact a price from everyone. Some in Routt County have paid much more than others. Whether you’re the reservist preparing for a third tour in the war zone, a parent anxiously watching the nightly news, praying the latest casualty isn’t your own, or just feeling a void left by a neighbor who decided to join the fight, we’re all paying in our own way. Routt County residents have contributed mightily to our nation’s conflicts. The local Veterans Administration estimates that more than 16 men and women from our community have, or are, serving in these current theaters. You may never know any of them or how their families have sacrificed during their tours of duty. You might have passed one on the way to work. Maybe the kid who changed the oil in your truck yesterday was a Private First Class patrolling the streets of Baghdad or Kabul last month. You wouldn’t know their stories unless they told you, but they likely won’t. So we will. Here are four veterans who have journeyed beyond Rabbit Ears Pass to serve their country in a foreign land.
Harms Court to Harm’s Way
##image1-left- Shea Hurley joined the Army National Guard to help pay for college. His enlistment instead led to a one-year combat tour in Iraq.##
From the doorstep of Shea Hurley’s home atop Harms Court you can see why he loves Steamboat Springs: the vista of Mount Werner and Howelsen Hill reflect the natural and manmade beauty of this playful, yet industrious community. Not long ago, the fiery golden glow of Colorado aspens was replaced by the blinding flash of improvised bombs designed to kill the 22-year-old Steamboat local. The Army National Guard seemed like a smart way to finance college when he got into the service, but like many things in life, it didn’t all go to plan. On his 21st birthday, Shea’s enlistment landed him in Kuwaiti sand. Dressed in his desert camouflaged battle dress uniform, he soon came to one of the most dangerous places on the planet: Iraq. It didn’t take long for the reality of war to sink in. “Several bombs went off after we took over from the other unit,” he remembers. “And I thought, ‘well, we’re not at home anymore.’” The attacks were a daily occurrence, and eventually one came dangerously close to taking his young life. “I got a little piece of shrapnel in my neck once, but I just pulled it out,” he says humbly. Shea received the Purple Heart Medal for the surface wound, but doesn’t feel like he deserves it when he remembers men who lost fingers, limbs or worse. “I don’t have problems with memories of Iraq,” he says of his 12-month combat tour. “There are times I wish I was back there because it was such a rock-hard routine in my life, and the routine was all we had. And as much as I hate to say it, the adrenaline rush it gave me was like nothing else I can find here.” Despite missing the emotional high of war, Army life made Shea realize that Routt County is where he is meant to be. “After going over there and coming back, I can’t leave my home. I took it for granted before, but I can’t do that now.”
A Special Burden
##image2-center- Retired Marine Mike Condie had a lot of tough jobs during his 26 years of service. Being a father of two deployed Marine sons is something he never expected.##
Retired Marine Sergeant Maj. Mike Condie knows the perils of war. He witnessed firsthand the carnage left by the first Gulf War. His wartime role is less dangerous now, but as the father of two deployed Marines, there couldn’t be a tougher job. Like all parents, he tries not to worry. “I don’t worry about them because I can’t,” says the leatherneck. “My job is to love my sons, support my sons, but not interfere with my sons. They are both adults. They picked what they got – that’s what they wanted.”
The brothers, Matt, 24, and Marc, 22, have served in the same active duty infantry company in Iraq since February. The combat tour is the first for the lance corporals.
With a little luck, Condie’s “boys” send a weekly e-mail or call their dad from satellite cell phones. Not long ago the phone rang in Condie’s Veterans Affairs office in Sundance Plaza. “Hi Dad,” Marc’s voice crackled. “I was just so surprised. I talked to them both. We had to hang up after only two minutes, but I was just so pleased to hear their voices,” says their father. The 26-year, senior enlisted man never thought his sons would follow in his footsteps by joining the Marine Corps, let alone go to war.
“Yeah, I don’t really care for the war, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m proud of their service,” he says with a resigned tone. “I can’t allow myself to think about it too much.” Marc and Matt Condie are due to return to their California base by the end of September. When they do, a proud Marine will greet them.
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