Name of person interviewed: John Ryan Other people present: Levi Papineau Researcher: Levi Papineau Date of interview: 6/1/14 Special conditions: At the beginning of the interview there are people talking in the background and a fan is running followed by a phone. General description of contents: An Interview with John Ryan about his time on Okinawa while in the Marines and his two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan while in the National Guard. Length of interview: 37 minutes and 8 seconds
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00-1:10 Background Information 1:11-8:55 Enlistment/Training 8:56-10:27 Deployment 10:28-16:00 Casualties: Home and away 16:01-19:32 Metals/Contact with home 19:33-21:50 Food/Supplies 21:51-25:46 Prayer/Entertainment 25:47-28:50 On leave/Travel/Humor/Fun 28:51-32:33 Relationships/Education/Friends 32:34-34-27 Veteran’s Organization/Thoughts on Military and war/Appreciation 34:28-37:08 Pride in his country/Help for Veterans
Mr. John Ryan Interviewed by Levi Papineau, 2014
John Ryan was born May 27, 1976 and served in the Marine Corps from 1994 to 1998. He joined the Army National Guard in 2006 where he is still serving as a Sergeant.
In the Marine Corps, he served in Okinawa for the duration of his tour. While in the National Guard, he served two tours in the Middle East, fighting in the Global War on Terror in Iraq in 2007 and 2008, and in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012.
John planned to join the National Guard after high school, but while he was in high school, he did not prepare for college so when a Marine recruiter told him that he could get forty thousand dollars for college he signed right up. He signed up as a junior in high school and left for basic training right after he graduated the next year. He was shipped down to San Diego, California to train at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. There, he experienced the brutal training that is expected from the Marine Corps.
Going to Okinawa was a bit scary for him because he had never traveled on this scale before and it made him feel lost at first. As he got used to living there, he began to enjoy himself much more.
When he arrived in Iraq, after finally joining the National Guard, he was actually quite exited with the visions of the war movies that he seen back home, but with that excitement came the inevitable fear of being in a place that was unsafe for the first time in his life.
However, his arrival in Afghanistan a few years later was not quite as peaceful. Knowing from his first deployment what could happen brought him uneasiness with the realization that it was possible that he might not make it home. Thankfully, his gut feeling was wrong about him and everyone in his direct unit when they all made it home safely.
Mr. Ryan received countless medals for good conduct on all of his tours and has heard nothing but positive comments about his service. He is currently living in Milton-Freewater, Oregon with his wife and family. He is still a soldier in the National Guard and is a part of the VFW. He is proud of his country and glad that he could serve it as he has done. With all that he has seen and experienced, he says that he would do it all again… John Ryan is truly an American hero.