Dispatch from Afghanistan: Alum shares experiences in the Army

Photo provided by Donald Wagner Penn State alumnus Donald Wagner, making a call from a hilltop in Logar, Afghanistan.

1st Lt. Donald Wagner is a 1997 Penn State journalism graduate. The former assistant editor Penn State sports magazine Blue White Illustrated, he is currently serving in Afghanistan with the 1-506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, based out of Fort Campbell, Ky. Wagner is sharing his experiences on the ground in Afghanistan in a series of dispatches for Penn State Newswire and Penn State Live. In the first installment, Wagner discusses the challenges of leaving behind his wife and newborn twins, and never taking Penn State football for granted.

Combat isn’t something that can be described to those who haven’t experienced it. Sure, you can tell war stories but those stories will always lack a certain something for the listener because they haven’t been there. That is part of what makes combat such a unifying experience for those who have lived through it.

When you spend countless months with the same people sharing the same experiences (good and bad) you can’t help but become close to them. For me the “Diablos” of 2nd platoon, Baker Company were those people. I am proud to say I served as their leader.

My name is Donald Wagner. I am a 1997 graduate of Penn State’s College of Communications and currently serve as a 1LT in the Army. I recently finished my tour as the platoon leader of 2nd platoon, which is part of the historically steeped 1-506th Infantry regiment, a unit that traces its lineage back to the “Band of Brothers” of HBO mini-series fame. We are currently forward deployed to Afghanistan.

Having just finished my time as a platoon leader I wanted to share some of my experiences. I also hope to paint a realistic picture of what our soldiers in Afghanistan and their families go through on a daily basis.

I honestly thought I knew what I was getting into when I joined the Army. It turns out I didn’t. Eventually, however, I learned. I knew from the day I raised my right hand that someday I would end up far away from the ones I love. Again, I thought I knew what I was getting into. It turns out I didn’t.

Two weeks before I deployed, my wife gave birth to twin sons. The moment literally brought me to my knees. For months we had known that I would leave shortly after our sons’ birth and I had done everything I could to mentally prepare myself for that moment.

Still, the night after they were born I found myself kneeling in the shower with tears streaming down my face as it hit me that I would get 14 days with them and then be gone.

Still, I am one of the lucky ones. I actually got to see my children’s birth. There are more soldiers than I care to count who miss the birth of their children entirely because they are fighting for our country.

I am over here for many reasons, one of the biggest being my family. I want my boys to know that I and soldiers like me fought to assure them of a safer future. Someday I will look my sons in the eyes and tell them what I and thousands like me did for them, especially the ones who paid the ultimate price.

One of the hardest parts of this job is losing friends. The Army tries to train you for every contingency but the death of a fellow brother in arms is one thing for which there is no training. To date I have lost four friends, the most recent being a fellow platoon leader in another company just three weeks ago to an IED.

As a new father, what hits me the hardest are the children who are suddenly left fatherless. One of our friends whose husband died in Iraq had an 8-month old daughter. She was approximately four months old when he left. My fellow platoon leader had two daughters under the age of five and another officer I knew who was killed here in Afghanistan several weeks ago had a five-year old son. He was just weeks from coming home.

Every day some military family somewhere has its life changed forever by a knock on the door. Children are suddenly left fatherless and wives are left without a husband and vice versa. While I can’t bring any of my friends back, I have sworn that someday I will tell my sons about each of them so they understand the price that has been paid for their freedom.

This is a tough line of work, no doubt, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I am honored to fight for a country that has given me and my family so much.

You take nothing for granted when you are deployed. Take Penn State football for example. I spent five years as the assistant editor at Blue White Illustrated and my life literally revolved around Nittany Lion football. Every day of every week in the fall was geared around the football schedule. While I enjoyed my job, it was tiring. By season’s end I was ready for a break.

Now, I can’t get enough PSU football information. I am constantly searching the internet for anything having to do with the Lions. Fortunately, my good friend Mark Brennan, the owner/publisher of FightonState.com, keeps me plugged in with updates.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Armed Forces Network will broadcast a couple Nittany Lion games. More likely, however, I spend many late nights huddled over a computer watching games via the internet.

One of my good friends from college recently emailed me to tell me he and his wife are taking their three-year old daughter to her first Penn State game this weekend. How awesome is that? It reminds me of the games my father used to take me to when I was younger. I can’t wait to do the same with my boys someday.

As for the game against Coastal Carolina, let’s see if I’ve lost my touch: Penn State 52, Coastal Carolina 10.