Have a question? Need assistance? Use our online form to ask a librarian for help.
Unit: Detachment 1, 1st Battalion, 102nd Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division; Connecticut Army National Guard
Branch of Service: Army
War / Conflict: Afghan War, 2001-2021
"Anyone who tells you they are not scared is lying to you." (Video interview, 21:30)
Unsure of his direction in life, Veasna Roeun decided to join the Connecticut National Guard as a way to both continue his education and serve his adopted country; he had emigrated from Cambodia when he was young. Roeun eventually deployed to Afghanistan as a staff sergeant with the 29th Infantry Division, Army National Guard. Predominately based in Laghman Province in Afghanistan, Roeun and his unit conducted highly stressful missions, causing him to consistently feel apprehension about the safety of his soldiers and the mission at hand. Like many people serving during conflict, Roeun suffered the loss of soldiers who had become friends, but also found joy in morale-boosting experiences with his unit. Describing his relationship with his military service as bittersweet, in his oral history interview, Roeun discusses the complexity of his feelings toward his adopted country.
Initially flying into the Bagram Air Base, Roeun pondered how a place that felt so secure could actually be a battlefield, and discussed in his oral history how he hoped that he and his unit wouldn't be stationed there for long. Rouen was eager to be out in the field with his unit, and was excited to be relocated to Laghman Province, in the eastern part of Afghanistan. He both admired the beauty of Afghanistan and struggled with the difficult mission at hand.
In his oral history, Roeun discusses the toll serving in Afghanistan placed on his mental and emotional well-being. As a staff sergeant, his responsibility to his soldiers was constantly at the front of his mind. Even during his own period away from Afghanistan for "R&R," or rest and recuperation, Roeun struggled with his conflicting desire to be back alongside those he was serving with and the endless dread at returning.
"I'm proud to have served, I really am. I'm proud to be part of a fighting force of a great nation. And I'm really proud to say I've earned my citizenship with blood and sweat, cause I was sworn in in Afghanistan. I was an immigrant from a country that's 12,000 miles away and I get sworn in as a citizen from a country that's 2,000 miles away from my country of birth. And I can honestly say that I've earned my citizenship in blood and sweat, because a week before I was sworn in was that incident, with the mortar rock and the ambush." (Video interview, 1:41:55)
The incident Roeun is referring to in the above quote is the loss of two fellow soldiers and friends, Sgt. Paul and Sgt. Howard, ambushed while Roeun's unit was escorting a high profile figure in addition to towing ammunition and supplies. The loss of the two soldiers affected him immensely. In his oral history, Roeun shared how he continues to struggle with his survivor's guilt while recalling these two fellow soldiers. In a poignant twist of fate, Sgt. Paul said to him just before departing for the mission, "I always feel safe with you out there."
