Remembering the Anniversary of Iraq War

By Chuck N. Baker 

For veterans and those on active-duty, this month marks an important military anniversary. March 20, 2022. This year marks the 19th anniversary to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. President George W. Bush officially launched the action aimed to rid Iraq leader Saddam Hussein and eliminate his ability to use weapons of mass destruction. The coalition overthrew Hussein and successfully prosecuted major urban combat operations. While no weapons of mass destruction were located, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was satisfied that the military campaign was successful in that it ended Hussein’s support of terrorism and freed the Iraqi people from his dictatorship.  

Those goals were met and U.S. troops along with additional other coalition forces performed admirably. Las Vegan Bruno Moya was a machine gunner with the Marine Corps and saw much combat. He left the service after investing almost eight years and returned to Nevada. 

“I was a machine gunner in Iraq,” said former Marine Corps sergeant Moya. “I was in the service for almost eight years, then left to go to UNLV.” At UNLV, Moya used the G.I. Bill to pay for his schooling and after becoming involved in the veterans community he worked advocating for veterans bills in the Nevada Legislature. “We had some successes,” Moya said. “If a father or mother is killed in action and their children live in another state, the kids can transfer to Nevada and have up to three years to not pay an out-of-state added tuition fee. It waives that completely.” Another success was a Purple Heart bill, which was written by a friend of his. “My friend wrote a policy brief, and I advocated and testified for it.” Now Nevada law, it allows Purple Heart recipients to enroll at UNLV tuition-free. “They have to pay a few fees, but that’s all,” he said. 

In looking back at his time in Iraq, Moya said, “Initially I was in way over my head. When I first got there, I had just turned 19, and I was part of the invasion. Driving down the street there it definitely felt like we were freeing the nation. A lot of the people were grateful. A friend pointed out we were making history, that we were liberating a whole country.” 

Today Moya feels the situation has become too political. “Politics got in the way. I questioned why, why did we do this war? Then down the road it all collapsed.” He was referring to the U.S. military withdrawing from Iraq in 2011 after failing to negotiate a status-of-forces agreement with the Iraqi government. But just three years later, troops returned to help Iraq beat back the Islamic State organization. The Biden administration has assured Americans that the 2,500 troops now in Iraq are there in an advisory capacity.  

Moya earned a master’s degree in social work and is fiercely proud of his service in the Corps. “I saw a TV commercial for the Marines where a civilian kid draws sword and a dragon comes out of nowhere, and he turns into a Marine and slays the dragon. I was 17 at the time and it made an impression on me.” 

Politics aside, he opined that many veterans of Iraq came out of the experience and moved on to positive endeavors. “It opened our eyes and pointed us in the right direction.” For example, Moya’s time in the Marines serving in Iraq led him to become a veteran’s advocate who was successful in forging legislation that helped veterans, which in turn led him to enroll at UNLV and earn a master’s degree, which in turn led him to his current position helping veterans through the Merging Vets & Players organization.  Veterans’ groups that plan to promote the anniversary mirror his feelings. “I still have the pride. I have no regrets. We were asked to do something for our country, and we did it. We did it with honor.” 

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CAPTIONS: 

A little girl of An Najaf, Iraq, watches through a gate while U.S. Army soldiers of the 3rd Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, 32th Infantry Regiment patrol through her neighborhood in 2003. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Kyran V. Adams.) 

Members of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) help place wreaths on graves of fallen servicemembers who served in Iraq and other fronts during a Wreaths Across America event at West Point Cemetery in West Point, N.Y. in 2021. (U.S. Army Photo by Jorge Garcia.) 

Bruno Moya at UNLV. (Photo by Casey Jade Photography.)