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 17th Cbt Sustainment spt Bn, 3rd 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
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