| Title |
Nick Lopez, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by John C. Worsencroft, October 6, November 23, December 17, and December 29, 2009: Saving the Legacy tape nos. IA-10, IA-25, , IA-27, and IA-28 |
| Alternative Title |
Nick Lopez, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah; Nick Lopez, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by John C. Worsencroft, November 23, 2009: Saving the Legacy tape no. IA-25 |
| Creator |
Lopez, Nick, 1965- |
| Contributor |
Worsencroft, John C., 1981-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2009-10-06; 2009-11-23; 2009-12-17; 2009-12-29 |
| Date Digital |
2015-12-16 |
| Access Rights |
I acknowledge and agree that all information I obtain as a result of accessing any oral history provided by the University of Utah's Marriott Library shall be used only for historical or scholarly or academic research purposes, and not for commercial purposes. I understand that any other use of the materials is not authorized by the University of Utah and may exceed the scope of permission granted to the University of Utah by the interviewer or interviewee. I may request permission for other uses, in writing to Special Collections at the Marriott Library, which the University of Utah may choose grant, in its sole discretion. I agree to defend, indemnify and hold the University of Utah and its Marriott Library harmless for and against any actions or claims that relate to my improper use of materials provided by the University of Utah. |
| Spatial Coverage |
Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Iraq |
| Subject |
Lopez, Nick, 1965- --Interviews; Veterans--Utah--Biography; Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American; Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American |
| Description |
Transcript (44, 31, 48, 33 pages) of four interviews by John C. Worsencroft with Nick Lopez on October 6, November 23, December 17, and December 29, 2009. From tape numbers IA-10, IA-25, IA-27, and IA-28 in the "Saving the Legacy" Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Lopez (b.1965) was born and raised in Utah. His family has a strong military tradition, and he always wanted to be a Marine. After graduating high school in 1983 Nick began to have legal and financial problems that first drove him to Columbus, Ohio, and then into the Marine Corps. He talks about his experience in boot camp on Parris Island and how he was going to make something of his life. He graduated as a heavy equipment operator and was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. His switch to the Marine Corps Reserve was made to spend more time with his kids but he found that he was not keeping himself busy enough so he went back to active duty in time for Desert Storm in August, 1990. His unit flew into Saudi Arabia where they spent eight months working an average of ten hours a day supplying other units for Operation Desert Shield. He explains the chaotic nature of the first gulf war from his vantage points in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Nick talks about the patriotic American pandemonium during his return home. Soon after his return, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant and looked into becoming a Drill Instructor. For Drill Instructor training, he went back to Parris Island to face an even more intense boot camp. He didn't care much for his position after training and also began to have serious marital problems. In an attempt to save his marriage he chose not to reenlist and instead joined the 1457th Army National Guard unit in Murray, Utah. Quickly frustrated by the dynamics of the Army National Guard, Nick decided to switch to the Marine Corps Reserve with Charlie Company at the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. During the Utah winter Olympics in 2002, Nick decided to switch to Fox Company as a 1st Sergeant. Nick discusses the initial problems with communication, rumors, and disputes between officers. He recalls feeling like his unit was often short of supplies simply because it was a Reserve battalion. In addition, he describes the problems he experienced with the embedded Japanese journalist in his unit. He describes the combat his unit encountered, the effect combat had on his Marines, and the basic strategy his unit took approaching Baghdad. Furthermore, Nick explains the dynamics of the chain of command and his opinion on the state of Iraq today along with how it has changed since he was there. He discusses returning home and the medical problems his unit experienced, particularly PTSD symptoms. Interviewed by John C. Worsencroft. 160 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
160 pages |
| Language |
eng |
| Rights |
 |
| Scanning Technician |
Mazi Rakhsha |
| Conversion Specifications |
Original scanned with Kirtas 2400 and saved as 400 ppi uncompressed TIFF. PDF generated by Adobe Acrobat Pro X for CONTENTdm display |
| ARK |
ark:/87278/s6767hd0 |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; Persian Gulf War (1991); Iraq War (2003-2011) |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030682 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6767hd0 |
| Title |
Page 137 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1030658 |
| OCR Text |
Show ick Lopez 29 Decemb r 2009 I remember being one of the last ones off deck and I just told this I rememb r the company commander telling me, "Okay, we've got these last two to get out of here." I left and went home. I'd gotten [WA V2, -7: 12] right away. I remember I still had Marines on active duty when they finally got back to Salt Lake and they stayed for a period of time. And just back. We had a couple of months that we didn't have to drill. I was still busy doing [WAV2, -7:29]. JCW: Did you go right back to work as a firefighter? NL: Yes. I went right. .. matter of fact, I don't think I was home maybe six days. I think I got released off active duty on the 28th of June, I think, and my first, I remember working the 4th of July at the fire department. So a few days and I was back to duty, which was interesting because I was talking about how there were some guys that were having issues and there were some things that should have been flagged. We all took a post-deployment health assessment. I remember them pulling us in. They probably let us talk to somebody-I never did. I remember my first station sits right next to a minor league baseball park and they were having a 4th of July baseball game and 4th of July fireworks show. So fireworks come out, they were set up right next to the fire station. I remember coming out on the front driveway of the fire station, the guys said, "Come on, let's watch the fireworks." I watched out there and I barely cleared the garage door when the first mortars went off of the fireworks. The ha-boom went off and I was like Oh, shi .. . and I kind of ducked down a bit. It was just out of reflex, I ducked my shoulders. I think I watched one or two off and I said, "Nah, this isn't for me anymore. I'm going 10 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6767hd0/1030658 |
