My name is Tristan Grant Baker.

I served with the US Army B.CO 2/502 BCT 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION AND B.CO 2-23 4TH SBCT 2ND ID, spending nine years in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Most of my career was with the 101st Airborne in the 502nd and there is nothing like it on earth. I was a squad and fire team leader

My dad and uncles also served during the Gulf War but spoke very little about it. I enlisted because I felt it was my duty to serve my country during its time of need. There are a few bad parts for me but the number one and worst was losing the guys I ate with, joked with, laughed with, and whom I considered my brothers. And the second part is that losing them still feels like a dream to me. The first picture is where I was riding one of the Afghanistan kid’s bikes to show them we could have fun too. The second picture is of my buddies and me in Iraq with me in the middle. To the left is Steve Knaus, myself in the middle and my fallen brother Willie McLawhorn on my right. It is still hard to talk about. It is like a dream that he is gone. That was a day I will never forget. There are some things I’m still not that comfortable talking about even to this day. The group photo is of my squad right before we went out on a mission in the Zari district of Afghanistan. In the last picture, we are another mission, but I can’t really recall the exact date. I’m on the far left getting my gear on my brother Patrick Deans who is in the middle dancing. He too also sacrificed his life for our country that year. On the right is Aaron “Mickey” McCosh. He was one of the funniest Joe’s or privates that we had. It was about 120 degrees that day and we spent like 10 hours looking and hunting for the enemy. I still keep in contact with quit a few of the guys from my unit.

I would have to say my service in the military did change me as a person. For the longest time I felt as if it should’ve been me not them but I knew God had a plan for me just like he did for them. As for fear and having already stared death in the face, it would have to be something happening to one of my kids.

Coming home felt great. My friends and family came out to see me come home as we landed on the airstrip. You could hear the screams as you got off the airplane. I think I’m still readjusting to this very day. You never forget or get over what happened over there but you learn to deal with it by the right people backing you. It’s hard to say how long or if you will readjust being back home, but life continues either way.

Today, I am an advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT).
~ Tristan Baker, Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran

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