ADAMS, Mass. — David Levesque served his country in the Army and Army National Guard for 28 years from 1979 to 2007, retiring as a master sergeant. 

 

He grew up in Enfield, Conn., and his desire to serve was based upon the service of an abundance of family members as well as a very important factor. 

 

"I had wrecked my car and was getting rides ... was 19 years old getting rides from my mother," he said. "I originally went to a Navy recruitment office but the recruiter said he was going out to get something to eat and that he'd be right back in an hour or two ...

 

"I didn't want to wait — within a week I was in the Army." 

 

He would do his basic training at Fort Dix, NJ. 

 

"I was scared as hell, kept asking myself, 'what did I just do?' We were all scared but then camaraderie kicked in and we started going to breakfast and lunches and dinners together," he said of his fellow recruits.

 

Levesque's first assignment would take him to Fort Devens, where he was a Morse code interceptor. 

 

"You had to be able to type 90 letters per minute. It was extremely difficult. I had a bad accident and suffered head trauma and got reassigned to Red Stone Arsenal in Alabama," he recalled. "I worked on nuclear special weapons — Tridents, Pershings — it was very fun but we all knew the dangers of it. The chief warrant officers were great mentors." 

 

How were the holidays? 

 

"The first one was tough but didn't really affect me. I wrote and received a lot of letters. I was single and took duty for the married guys so it didn't matter. You really felt the camaraderie, that was important," he said. 

 

His first deployment would take him to a highly intense combat environment in the Iraq War.  

 

"We got mortared every other day. The mortars hit so close that you feel the vibrations on the ground," he said. "You realized how fragile we really are. I thought about my wife and kids, had a few close calls. 

 

It gives you a reality check, big time, your mindset needs to be in the present. It's unfortunate but you need to forget about the family back home. It's extremely dangerous for you and the people that you're leading. In my position, I had the chance to go around and talk to other soldiers about their experiences and see how they were feeling. In combat, you can't keep it in, you need to talk about it. I'd find my guys and we'd talk ... communicate ... you keep it in, that's when you snap." 

 

He continued, "I was so fortunate and grateful that all of my 150 guys came home. Some were injured but they came home. That means a great deal to me."

 

When asked about his service, Levesque answered with this.

 

"Pride, no question, very proud of my 28 years of service. The people I've touched and mentored and the people that have mentored me — pride is always there, which makes the camaraderie of a combat veteran so special," he said. 

 

He was awarded a bronze star ("I was just doing my job"), the Good Conduct Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and numerous other service medals.

 

Master Sgt. David Levesque, thank you for your service to our great country.