Invoice Arnold all the time had the eagerness to serve his nation. Coming from a household of 5 generations of veterans, army service was ingrained in him.
However whereas driving dwelling from a funeral of a veteran he as soon as commanded, the query hit him – “Might I do extra to help veterans struggling after fight?”
That’s when the previous Marine Corps officer established Blue Diamond Recreation, a nonprofit group in Fort Price, Texas, offering out of doors actions, fishing, mountaineering, and different sports activities, to help veterans and their households, particularly after they’re dealing with psychological well being points. Blue Diamond Recreation plans 6-10 retreats annually, providing peer help and methods to attach with different veterans.
“The results of conflict, all of it comes again to the ripple impact,” Arnold stated. “It impacts everyone.”
Arnold informed Fort Price Report that his group has 39 members and continues to develop.
First-Hand Fight Expertise
Within the Marine Corps, Arnold was thrust into fight conditions on a number of events.
He was deployed to Iraq throughout Operation Desert Storm within the early Nineteen Nineties, commanding the Scout Platoon, Regimental Fight Group-1, 1st Marine Division.
Arnold turned a reservist in 1994, transitioning to a profession as a trainer for Fort Price Nation Day College. He loved the break from full-time army responsibility whereas nonetheless sustaining a connection to the Marines.
That modified on Sept. 11, 2001. Arnold watched on TV in surprised disbelief because the terrorist assaults unfolded in New York Metropolis and Washington, D.C. Once more, he felt the urge to serve his nation, however in what approach? He requested his spouse, Debbie, if he ought to return to energetic responsibility.
“I particularly bear in mind Debby me and saying, ‘You’re an amazing Marine.’ I assumed to myself, I’m nonetheless match and comparatively younger,” Arnold stated.
He determined to return to energetic responsibility; nevertheless, the selection weighed closely on his household, together with three youngsters, and his college students at Nation Day.
“The true heroes are the army spouses,” Arnold stated. “My spouse discovered herself as a single mum or dad for the primary time, with three youngsters and a husband deployed to one of the vital harmful locations on the earth at the moment.”
He was about to learn how harmful it was.
Arnold was despatched to Fallujah, Iraq, to steer a scout platoon. The unit fought within the Second Battle of Fallujah, the deadliest battle of the conflict in Iraq. Coalition forces misplaced greater than 100 troops, with over 600 wounded. Greater than 3,000 enemy insurgents fell, however so did hundreds of civilians. Greater than half of Fallujah’s mosques suffered harm. The combating raged on for six weeks, essentially the most intense city fight because the Vietnam Warfare.
In 2005, Arnold’s deployment ended. He returned to Fort Price, reuniting with household, associates, and his college students.
The Marine couldn’t shake Fallujah, although.
“My first tour was in peacetime, so the sights, smells, and the sounds of the battlefield have been one thing that I used to be unfamiliar with,” Arnold stated. “As a result of the battle had develop into a touchstone for me, each time I noticed a traumatic information story, or if it was chilly outdoors, every little thing got here again to Fallujah.”
For some time, Arnold tried to brush previous the flashbacks. He tried to acclimate to life as a civilian. However he realized the battle had develop into part of him.
Saved Lives in Fight
Mike Shupp, a retired Marine Corps colonel, stated Arnold was always answerable for saving lives. Arnold and Shupp served collectively in Iraq.
“Arnold was answerable for my safety as a regimental commander,” Shupp stated. “He saved me alive each day.”
Shupp remembers Arnold establishing checkpoints all through Fallujah, making sure there can be no extra Marines wounded or killed after U.S. forces secured town. He had an intuition to assist his fellow comrades. Twenty years later, as he works to provide veterans leisure alternatives, that intuition has not pale.
“Seeing Invoice’s instance makes me a greater individual and a greater Marine, as a result of it makes me understand that I’ve to be supportive of this stuff as properly,” Shupp stated.
The Have to Give Again
Giving again, whether or not by means of army service or instructing, has develop into a core tenet of Arnold’s life.
It began when he earned a scholarship in highschool to attend Virginia Navy Institute. He acquired a bachelor’s diploma in historical past from VMI and a grasp’s in historical past from the College of Texas at Arlington. He turned a commissioned second lieutenant in 1990, serving in Quantico, Virginia.
Arnold and different veterans will likely be honored in November for his or her service at an occasion hosted by the Nationwide Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas.
He just lately retired from instructing, devoting himself absolutely to Blue Diamond Recreation.
In spite of everything, there’ll all the time be veterans who want a serving to hand.
