Upbeat soldier wins hearts, if not minds

At a time when so many Americans are against the war in Iraq, Army Sergeant Robert Eaton's enthusiasm stood out, and perhaps especially so because he was speaking before a room full of seniors in Bedford who have lived through numerous other conflicts and times of upheaval and don't want to see more.

During the Vietnam War four decades ago, it was the young people who led the protests against the American involvement in Indochina, who burned their draft cards. Now they are the older generation, and many are still calling for peace, and bucking against the hawkishness of the young.

About 30 of them gathered at Middlesex Community College's Bedford campus on May 17 to hear Eaton, 28, speak as part of the Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Education for Seniors, which offers weekly study groups.

The soldier told the group that, after two tours of duty and more than 18 months in Iraq, he is still excited to return to that military theater next year.

"This is the only job I have ever had that gives me this much satisfaction," said Eaton, a graduate of Woburn High, who works as a recruiter in Burlington, enlisting young people in the Army.

"Anyone joining in this day and age is not doing it just for the money," he told the group. "They know they will probably be going to Iraq or Afghanistan."

He talked about a recent recruit who showed up just after his 17th birthday.

"He said he wanted to give back to his country," Eaton said.

In the audience, Gloria Loughlin, 73, of Reading said she was saddened by the idea that so many young people are going off to fight.

A friend and former colleague is just about to send her 19-year-old son to Iraq.

"We are all so upset about this war," Loughlin said. "This war is such a huge part of all our lives now."

Eaton responded by telling his audience about the changes he has helped orchestrate in Iraq. When he first arrived, in March 2003, the country was "the biggest disaster I had ever seen," he said.

There was no electricity and little communication equipment, and the hospitals and schools were in disrepair. After leaving for a second deployment to help with the elections in 2005, Eaton found "a whole new world" replete with cellphones, iPods, and many other modern conveniences.

"I was proud and excited," Eaton said. "I felt like I was doing something good."

The Army gave him direction and made him grow up, he said. After spending the first three years out of high school at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, he enlisted in fall 2001, motivated both by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and his appetite for adventure. "I heard we would get to jump out of planes," he said with a laugh.

He started his tour of duty in the Iraqi countryside, securing the path from Kuwait into Baghdad, where he stayed another 10 months. In 2005, he returned to Baghdad to help with the elections.

Over his time in Iraq, Eaton, who is married, said he met many Iraqis, shared food with them, and helped build a soccer field.

"We were diplomats, police officers, firefighters, and paramedics," he said. "It was interesting to be able to do seven different things but still be an infantry soldier."

The American forces were told not to drink the water or eat the food, but Eaton did anyway, hoping that the money he and his friends paid to the food vendors would help stimulate the local economy.

A few months after arriving, Eaton's friend and former roommate, just 19, a man who had been "like a little brother to me," Eaton said, was killed in a helicopter accident.

The experience changed him, forcing him to deal with personal tragedy and to step up for other members of his squad.

"You can either use it or not," he said of his loss.

Eaton's tales of friendship, cultural understanding, and coming of age in the Iraq war cut against much of the current popular rhetoric.

On May 16 an amendment calling to end funding for the Iraq war was defeated in the Senate, 67-29, though all of the Senate Democrats running for president voted against continuing the war. This month, in a CNN poll of more than 1,000 people, 65 percent indicated they were against the war that has killed more than 3,400 US service members and wounded 34,000.

Eaton said he is unswayed by public opinion polls or the media, which he says overstep their bounds with aggressive and overly negative coverage.

"The American public needs to know that we are there and that we are doing our jobs, but they don't need to know everything about it," he said.

For many in the audience, Eaton's good nature and easy laugh were appealing.

"He is a very good example of what we should hope for," said Barbara Anderson of Bedford, who says she came because her 32-year-old son, who lives in Petaluma, Calif., is in the military.

And his message resonated with Anderson.

"He is positive, intelligent, articulate, and obviously cares deeply for what he does," she said.

Nonetheless, her opinion of the war was unchanged.

"I absolutely support the troops," she said. "I am not so sure I support the mission."

Loughlin agreed. Having lost friends in both the Korean War and in Vietnam, she said enough is enough.

"All this war is just so sad," she said. "Obviously, he [Eaton] supports this war. He is young and full of hope. I am older and have lived through many wars. I disagree."