SEARCH RESULTS

Brooks Tucker

---

Brooks Tucker was in the suburbs of Kuwait near the famous "Highway of Death," a much photographed road littered with thousands of abandoned vehicles. There was never enough water while they were there, but at least there were no longer any Iraqi Army units either. (4:25)

---

It was in Khafji, a Saudi town on the Kuwait border, where Iraq made it's strongest attempt to enter Saudi territory. Brooks Tucker's Marine unit was in the desert nearby, backing up the Saudi National Guard. He was in a deep foxhole when aircraft screamed by low overhead and then there was an explosion. Iraqi planes here? (11:06)

---

Brooks Tucker nearly came into contact with Iraqi Army units while deployed near Khafji in Saudi Arabia. His infantry platoon was supposed to dig in deep if confronted by Iraqi tanks and then pull a surprise maneuver. Only thing, it depended on them not getting run over by the tanks. (4:53)

---

There has been a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking going on ever since Operation Desert Storm was halted after only 100 hours of fighting. Brooks Tucker was a Marine infantry platoon leader during that conflict and he has some definite opinions on it. (9:44)

---

Operation Desert Storm was so brief that Brooks Tucker, a Marine veteran of that conflict, believes that it may be a forgotten war. He speaks of the lessons learned, including operating in desert terrain and adjusting expectations for possible outcomes. (3:26)

Bruce D'Agostino

---

Told he was at the top of the list to be drafted, Bruce D'Agostino enlisted in the Air Force to get some electronics training. Based in Japan with a communications squadron, he sought an assignment in Vietnam because he didn't feel right sitting there while a war was going on. He was already a crack shot, thanks to a Marine sniper. (4:28)

---

Bruce D'Agostino took a temporary duty assignment in Saigon repairing teletype machines. The Air Force technician and his crew worked long days so they could have some free time. He used his to become a photographer, inserting himself into both government functions and battlefields. At the latter he learned firsthand the vagaries of the rules of engagement. (9:03)

---

Bruce D'Agostino's most vivid memory of Vietnam is leaving. Instead of waiting on a commercial flight, he hopped a military plane to his home base in Japan. Climbing aboard in darkness, he was startled when the lights came on and revealed the plane's cargo. His life was changed during that flight. (5:48)

---

Bruce D'Agostino had many contacts with civilians in Vietnam, but was wary of anyone he didn't know well. You never knew who could be the enemy. Warned to watch out for unwitting children carrying possible booby traps, he found himself in exactly that situation when a little boy ran up with something in his hand. (3:14)

---

His uncle was a veteran, so Bruce D'Agostino corresponded with him while in Vietnam, feeling he would understand what he was going through. The disgust began to build as he witnessed the nonchalant treatment of the remains of dead soldiers and read the ridiculous undercounts of casualties by the top brass. His top secret clearance gave him access to material which convinced him that they had no intention of winning the war. (3:38)