Gary Nelson "Gary's World" Published Nov. 17, 2004

Morgan was a hero to all of us at home

The first thing I noticed about him was that he ordered his coke with no ice - the way I always order mine. His rough hand met mine with a firm handshake. I knew his chapped hands were a result from working endless hours in the sands of the desert of Iraq.

I had the pleasure of meeting Morgan Strader in 2003, last summer, at the Bean Pot Restaurant one rainy afternoon. It was after he returned from serving in Iraq the first time that we spent around two hours talking about his family, coming home, and about his service in the Marines.

Every now and then there are certain people you meet in life who have a lasting impression on you. Morgan was that type of person.

He was home for a 24-day leave before heading out to California for what he then thought would be one more year of training new Marines. He told me he had plans of coming back to Tennessee after his time in the service and going to school. He said he was thinking about studying theology. He later signed up for one more year of duty.

"The only reason I came here to meet with you is because my grandma wanted me to," he said.

Although his grandparents Lonnie and Estelle Morgan were so very proud of him, Morgan didn't want any coverage in the newspaper about his service in the U.S. Marines Corps. He didn't want the attention.

"I'm not a hero. I'm just doing my job and doing what I get paid to do. I don't need to be thanked. I'm doing what I signed up for," Morgan said.

Morgan began his time with the USMC in July 2000 after graduating from Cumberland County High School.

"I always wanted to do something for my country, so I decided to join the Marines," he said.

Strader told me during our meeting that after Sept. 11, 2001 he knew he had done the right thing by enlisting and was proud to be serving the country.

He said his unit arrived in Iraq in February 2003, about a month before the initial invasion of Iraq.

"I was excited about going to Iraq - to actually go and to do something and not just be in training all the time. It felt good to go there. Our mission was successful ... we took out the regime. We were cheered in every city. There were only a small amount of citizens that didn't want us there. It felt good to liberate them," Morgan said. "But I only did what I had to do," he added.

In the beginning most of his time was spent digging holes at night, filling sandbags, and being on watch.

"We expected getting attacked with gas, but we never got it. We were constantly hot and tired and having to do things on three hours of sleep," Strader said.

He said it was good to be home and to see his family.

"Being over there, the hardest thing about being a Marine is being lonely. It's nice being on leave, just being able to relax and sleeping in. But I love being a Marine. When you're a Marine you are one 24/7 - even when on leave," he said.

The conditions in Iraq in the desert made it hard to be there, too.

"I realize what freedom is worth. I don't feel really special about what I did. I just did what I had to do ... America is the greatest country ... Being a warrior or being a civilian are both equally as important as the other and they just add to the greatness of America," Strader said.

We talked about Indiana and Tennessee. I'm originally from Indiana and so was Morgan. We talked about many of the differences and about how Tennessee was such a beautiful state. He showed me some pictures on his digital camera and said he would try to send some to me. After two hours of talking and a river of cokes with no ice, Morgan said he needed to get going. I felt like I had made a new friend. Many times after an interview I have made a new friend. It's one of the perks of working at a newspaper.

As we prepared to leave Morgan turned to me and said, "Hey, do me a favor and don't write a story about this."

The request kind of surprised me, but not coming from Morgan. I agreed. Morgan Strader was the kind of person who stood up for what he believed in, fought for our country, but didn't want a lot of recognition for it.

As I arrived at work on Monday, I heard Morgan was killed in action in Fallujah, Iraq on Friday. I knew that I had to share my interview I had with Morgan with the readers. Morgan, like many of the others who are serving their country, deserve and need to be recognized and honored. These men and women who sacrifice their lives at home in order to serve their country and stand up for what they believe in are truly the heroes of America. Their sense of duty is truly amazing.

I'll never forget my meeting with Morgan. He was a true hero who wanted to help the new men in his unit, fight for freedom, and be treated like an ordinary citizen. He will be greatly missed by all those whose lives he touched.

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Gary Nelson is a Chronicle staffwriter. His column appears periodically in the Crossville Chronicle.