TRAVERSE CITY -- Joining the Army right out of high school transformed Robert Myzel into a man and a warrior.
He served 111/2 years, including two tours in Iraq, until a makeshift explosive derailed his future. The event on Aug. 17, 2007, that doctors thought would leave him in a vegetative state changed the staff sergeant's life. But not his character.
Now disabled and unable to work due to a closed-head injury, the mechanic and sniper channels his dedication, leadership and problem solving skills into helping other veterans.
The Buffalo native, his wife Rachel, and young son moved to Traverse City -- her hometown -- in January. Within days he had joined the VFW and now the 31-year-old is actively involved in myriad ways. He's second vice commander of Cherryland Post 2780 as well as kitchen manager and hospital report manager. He also served, until injuries prevented it, in the Honor Guard.
"There's so much that this post gives here for the soldiers; they're 100 percent for soldiers," said Myzel, 31, who grew up in a military family on both sides and hung out at the local VFW with his grandfather as a kid. "I want to give everything I can to the community due to the fact that they gave me so much."
Two million and counting have been serving their country since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are a force all their own. Deploying at least once to military hot zones in Iraq and Afghanistan -- with 771,000 more than once, according to Department of Defense statistics -- they will resettle in their communities in numbers not seen in a generation.
These Gen X and Gen Y warriors have post-war experiences that mirror those returning from previous wars -- with a modern twist. Just over 16 million Americans served in World War II, according to the United States Census Bureau, and more than three million during the ten-year Vietnam War. Veterans of the modern conflict have not faced the hostility that greeted their father's generation nor the ebullience of a clear victory of their grandfather's.
The doors of veterans organizations are wide open to Iraq and Afghanistan vets, said Vietnam veteran and dedicated VFW volunteer Jack Pickard. As the World War II and Korean veterans pass on and the Vietnam vets age, this new generation is being encouraged to step up.
"Now 80 percent of the (local VFW) officers are Vietnam vets and we want to incorporate these younger vets right into leadership roles," he noted. "How can we keep saying we want to slow down if we don't start putting the younger ones in charge."
One steady refrain for veterans since World War II, the GI Bill, was boosted this fall to levels of assistance unimaginable even a decade ago. The Post 9/11 GI Bill provides full tuition assistance, applicable to any American college or university, plus a living stipend and full coverage for books.
It's a package launching Nathan Marks toward his dream of being a doctor. The 2004 Elk Rapids High School graduate joined the Army after a desultory year at Northwestern Michigan College. Admitting he was a "dumb 18-year-old" not ready for college, he served from 2005 to 2009 as an Army Ranger paratrooper and medic. He concluded his time in August with the Rangers unit that trained Rangers, never having deployed to a hot zone.
"It's absolutely amazing after you're eating dirt for four years the amount of motivation you have after you get out -- I'm extremely motivated now," said Marks, a fifth generation Army veteran. "I've been in the medical field for four years (so) I might as well stick with it."
Sustained by the love of his wife during his long recovery, Myzel's devotion to the VFW embodies a fundamental truth he lived in Iraq.
"As a sergeant I never put a soldier's life before mine," he said. "NCO's lead the way, soldiers follow."
Myzel appreciates the guidance and leadership as much as the camaraderie from the older veterans at the post, who have shepherded him as he tackled his duties.
"They're all mentors to me," he said. "Every day I come to the VFW, it's a welcoming party."
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