Revised William Dawson paper

Chase Kozlowski

Writing 115

20 July, 2014

When most people say the words, “he/she saved my life,” do they really mean that the person literally saved their life? Personally, I don’t think so. I think that when you say those words, they should not be taken lightly. There is a man named William Brandon Dawson from Tunica, Mississippi. I truly believe that this man saved my life.

William Brandon Dawson was born on August 18, 1990. In 2009 he graduated from Rosa Fort High School in Tunica Mississippi where he played football and was an honor student, he then went on to join the United States Army in September that same year. When I met Dawson we had both just graduated from basic training and were assigned a room together during our MOS (military occupation specialty) training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. We would always train together and joke around about many things during the short time in training. Whenever we weren’t training he would spend a lot of his time talking to his mother and girlfriend.

 

Brandon was actually as opposite as you could think of from me. He was a lean African-American guy from a small town, where as I am a heavy set guy that grew up on the Oregon coast. We would often discuss the extreme differences of how we were brought up but also talked about like things.

 

We were hoping to be stationed together wherever we were going to be sent, but when we received our orders he would be stationed at Fort Richardson, Alaska, while I was to be going to Fort Hood, Texas. I had really wanted to go to Alaska for a long time and our superiors told us that we could switch as we were both the same age and rank. We were planning on going through with the switch so I could go where I wanted and he could be closer to his family in Mississippi, but at the last moment he changed his mind because he had already told his family where he was going.

Dawson and I continued to stay in contact even though we were stationed thousands of miles from each other. A couple short months later, he was deployed to Afghanistan. We would chat once in a while but not much as he was extremely busy over there. In September 2010 my unit went to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California for a month of training to get us ready for our upcoming deployment in November. One day while I was sitting on my cot, cleaning my weapon and another friend of mine that was with Dawson and I in Missouri came to me and told me some terrifying news.

I was told that my friend Dawson had been killed in Afghanistan. I didn’t want to believe it. In fact, I didn’t until I purchased a copy of The Army Times which had the KIA’s (Killed In Action) in it. There it was, it read

“Army Pfc. William B. Dawson, 20, of Tunica, Miss., died Sept. 24 of wounds suffered while traveling between Ghanzi and Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, when his military vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 17^th Cbt Sustainment spt Bn, 3^rd Maneuver Enhancement Bde, Fort Richardson, Alaska.”

I wear a memorial bracelet on my right wrist for my friend. I also carry his listing from The Army Times in my wallet, and have done so ever since I got it. I carried it though my 12 month deployment to Afghanistan. I was supposed to go in his place. I truly believe that if we had switched orders, I would be the one that is no longer with us.

 

R.I.P

PFC William Brandon Dawson

Operation Enduring Freedom

KIA 24 September 2010

Elk hunting research paper.

Chase Kozlowski

Writing 115

1 Aug 2014

 

            Roosevelt elk are the largest of the four subspecies of elk in North America. They live in the Pacific Northwest on the west side of the cascade mountain range. Adult elk range from 6-10 feet tall and 575-1100 pounds. Bull elk (male) grow their antlers every year after dropping them with a velvety covering on them while the blood is circulating through the antlers and then they harden up and the elk rub on trees and small shrubs until a hard, ivory antler is left. The bulls use their antlers to fight off other bulls who try to come into the herd.

 

            I choose to hunt these elk during archery season, it is also their mating season which makes it easier. The elk are vocal during that time (September) making many different calls which can be mimicked to make the elk come closer to you. An effective method of calling is by using a bugle like bulls use to challenge other bulls to a fight, if you make a good bugle call it can really make a bull upset and he will come in looking for a fight.  My effective range on my compound bow is 80 yards, which is pretty close when there are a lot of eyes looking around for danger.

 

            A lot goes into preparing for elk season. Hours and hours are spent looking for elk in the off season so that you know where to look when it is time. Some choose to set up a trail camera to get photographs of animals moving through a certain area. Shooting your bow frequently is important so that you make a good shot on the animal so that you don’t wound the elk and not recover it. A lot of hunters go to 3D shoots which are trails with a marker to shoot from and a target that looks like an animal is at different ranges, you shoot the target and then there is a scoring system so that at the end of the course you add it up and see who has the better score.

 

            Hunting Roosevelt elk is not only a challenge but it can come with benefits. A good sized elk can fill the freezer and provide for a family for a year if it is taken care of properly. Every hunt is a successful one whether or not you kill an elk because you always learn something new and there are many stories that you can tell after being in the woods chasing these incredible animals.

 

N.p., n.d. Web. The Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti), also known as Olympic elk, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk in North America.

 

 

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3rd and final book for summer term

For my third book of non fiction that I enjoy I chose American Snipe, an autobiography of Chris Kyle. The most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. I always enjoy reading books about military because it is something that I was fortunate to experience. Chris Kyle had more then 160 confirmed kills in the Iraq war from 2003 to 2009. Kyle was fortunate enough to become apart of the elite navy seals during his time in the military. The book mainly went over his life before joining the military and of course his training that earned him his title as a navy seal. It also explains how he was the most lethal sniper in the U.S. Military. One thing that I think is really funny was the part that he talks about knocking out a guy in a bar that was saying that it is ok if some troops die in Iraq, and then on the news is the Jesse Ventura guy suing the estate of Kyle's wife for false accusations of him hitting Ventura. I think it is just crazy that he went to the great lengths of suing the guys wife to clear his name. I really enjoyed this book, I was thinking about reading Lone survivor again but I read that a couple of years ago so decided to finally read this book and I was not disappointed at all.

2nd book blog

For my second book I chose The old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway. This was the book that someone I admire likes. My dad has always talked about how great this book was and This was the perfect opportunity to read it! I really enjoyed this book, even though it was short it was very powerful. Santiago sounds like he as the same luck as I do with fishing. I love fishing very much, but I am more often catching nothing then catching fish. I hope that my luck is better this weekend when I go on the rogue river for 3 days! Santiago has a friend that helps him but when they are unsuccessful his parents tell him to go on another boat. It is unbelievable to me that people used to paddle out into the ocean back in those days. I am afraid to go out in the ocean on less then a twenty foot boat with a motor, let alone a paddle boat! At first when he goes out past the great wall he catches a small tuna (which is pretty cool to me, I have always wanted to catch a tuna!.) He then gets a bite from a marlin but the fish doesn't commit to the bite for a while. The fish finally swallows the bait and the fight is on. Santiago fights it all through the night saying that he wont let the fish go. The fish finally jumps and Santiago is amazed at the size, he says that it was 2 feet longer then his boat (sounds like a fish story to me!) After the long fight and tying the fish to the side of his boat he set his sails to go back to shore, a shark became interested in the scent of the blood and followed the train to Santiagos boat. Santiago waits for the shark to get closer and shoots it in the head with a harpoon, killing it and watching it sink to the depths of the ocean. Then more sharks come and he fends them off with his knife attached to his oar. He did all he could to save the marlin from the sharks but by the time he returned to the harbor it was just a skeleton. Everyone was amazed at how large the marlin was. This book was just awesome! I couldn't ever imagine catching a fish with that size, i'm lucky to catch a fish at all when I go out. I have decided to give this book to my dad for his birthday, he says that he has had many copies but always gives them away. I hope he likes it.

Research paper idea

Since I am an avid hunter and fisherman I will most likely write my paper on salmon fish spawn seasons or the elk rut. I have been fishing since I was 5 years old and I started hunting at the ago of 16. Right now the fall salmon run is going on, tomorrow I am going to Astoria and fishing the legendary "buoy 10" for chinook and coho salmon. August 30th is the start of archery elk and deer season. I will be spending as much time as I can out in the woods and on the river this year.

End of book thief start of the old man and the sea

I have been having problems with my blog from my home computer lately so I apologize for not posting as much as I would like. I am working on fixing the problem. I have finished reading the book thief and will do one last post about it. I am almost done with my second book, the old man and the sea. It is something that i am enjoying to read so far. I will post more soon.

I remember 17 July 2014

            There are many memories that I have experienced in my short life. Some good, and some bad. The past five years have been a roller-coaster of these memories. I notice that myself always relating assignments I am given to my military service. In early 2011 I was shot at by a Taliban sniper in southern Afghanistan. This being a not-so-good memory, it is still something that I would like to always remember so that I will appreciate life more because that day I was about a foot from losing my life.

            Our company had been in Afghanistan since November of 2010, steadily conducting convoys to many forward operating bases (FOB’s) in the southern region of the country. My role was the M2 50 caliber machine gun operator in the first truck in the convoy. For operational security purposes, I won’t say where we were coming from and where we were going. I remember the very distinct smell of the local afghan trucks that is simply indescribable. The feel of the warm wind in my sweaty face as we traveled at around 40MPH through the city streets

            The weight of my tactical vest pulling on my shoulders as I hear that crack of a seven point six-two rifle unexpectedly on my left side followed by the wizz of the bullet traveling over my head impacting with the rundown, concrete building to my right. The crack of my back was felt as I twisted my gun turret in the direction of the shot as fast as I possibly could, like my life depended on it….. Oh wait, it did. As I was staring down the dark, Smokey alleyway I could feel the butterfly shaped trigger of my loaded, safety off weapon, waiting to send the bullet out of the long, heavy barrel and send the person who just tried to kill me to hell.

            Looking into the alleyway at nothing, he wasn’t there. He left as fast as he had shot, he was waiting for a U.S. convoy to come through the city and take a pop shot at the gunner on top of the first truck. Sometimes they are successful at this cowardly tactic but fortunately they failed this time. Later, going through the same spot we had taken a rough measurement of how far the bulley had traveled over my head and we came up with 12-15 inches. Coming that close to certain death may not be a memory that a lot of people would like to remember, but for me, it is something that happened and I can never change it. It reminds me that I am lucky to be here and to appreciate the time that I have here on this planet.