Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Keith Arthur enlisted in the United States Army on September 28, 1987 after graduating that same year from Tyrone Area High School.
Last year, Arthur, who currently ranks as a Chief Warrant Officer Two, was assigned to travel to Iraq, like numerous other area soldiers.
After returning to his hometown of Tyrone, Arthur met with The Daily Herald to recount his involvement with the War in Iraq.
He arrived in Kuwait in late February of 2003 and lived in tents for three weeks until all the necessary materials arrived from the United States.
“I couldn’t believe it when we got there,” said Arthur. “I thought it was going to be a modern country, but these people are very poor, and conditions are harsh.”
Then, the war started in March.
According to Arthur, about three or four times a day, he could hear explosions, which would cause the military to sound the warning sirens. The sirens meant all soldiers had to put on their gas masks, and he said everyone was concerned at that point about chemical and biological warfare.
A week after the war started, Arthur began to convoy. He said when the military would drive through towns, the Iraqi people would be lining the roads to beg for food and water. He also said they would try to take materials off the military trucks.
He said the military would convoy for awhile, stop for a few days, and begin convoying again. The constant traveling took Arthur from the southern end of Iraq to the northern area in Mosul. After reaching Mosul, he was stationed there from the end of April to January 2004.
“I think the biggest thing I take from it is we gave back to people something we take for granted, and that is freedom,” Arthur said about his involvement in the war. “Women can now show their faces in public, can teach, can have a job, can leave home.”
He also added he believes 99 percent of the Iraqi people wanted the U.S. military there and said the people thanked them for their involvement. He said the military started programs to get the Iraqi people working. The military also spent time restoring swimming pools, soccer fields and other recreational facilities for the Iraqi people.
Arthur described the weather as harsh, with temperatures reaching 135 degrees during the day. He said it hardly rained, but then in the winter, it rained frequently. In the spring, there were wind and sand storms. In the southern region, it was mostly dessert, and in the northern region, there were mountains.
Arthur also described the animal life, with camels being seen frequently along with scorpions and camel spiders.
He described the support from home in which two area companies adopted his troop. Denner Drive from Manheim sent the soldiers the items they needed in care packages such as toilet paper, chap stick and toothpaste. Also, New Pig Corporation supported his troop.
“I wasn’t expecting that, and it was very touching when it happened,” said Arthur of the support from home. “It was very important to us.”
After 17 years in the military, Arthur has been assigned to numerous places around the world, including Germany, Georgia, Korea, Louisiana, and most recently Iraq. His future assignment is scheduled for Fort Drum, New York.
He has also received numerous awards and special badges during his military career.
Arthur is married to the former Karri Soellner of Tyrone, and she is a 1988 Tyrone High School graduate. They have a two-year-old daughter, Kylie.

By Rick