PORT TOWNSEND — Sgt. 1st Class Erik Nelson last week enjoyed some peaceful rest and relaxation with family in Port Ludlow and Port Townsend.
That, in stark contrast to the death and destruction he witnessed near Baghdad over the past year.
The Washington Army National Guard soldier just served a tour of duty in Iraq.
The 46-year-old infantry platoon sergeant led a 35-man platoon.
With the Army’s Company C Cavalry Division, First Battalion 161st Infantry, Nelson brushed with danger — and even witnessed the death of a soldier in his platoon — while stationed in Al Tuwaitha, about 15 miles south of Baghdad.
There he and his platoon guarded an Iraqi nuclear complex that was bombed by the Israeli army in the 1980s.
He also led dangerous checkpoint detail and patrols that involved hunting for Iraqi insurgents in homes.
Home to family members
Nelson was visiting his parents, Ron and Diane Nelson of Port Ludlow, sister Sue Nelson, Port of Port Townsend administrative assistant, and her daughter, Ashley Parker, in Port Ludlow, his sister, Jenny Belgarde and her daughter, Chelsea, of Port Townsend, and another sister, Dana Nelson of Port Townsend.
Despite the perils of war, Sgt. Nelson firmly believes that the U.S. presence in Iraq is justified and necessary.
“I think it would be a waste to pull out because it would be just a big bloodbath between the Sunnis and Shiites,” Nelson, dressed in camouflage fatigues and a beret, said of the wartorn country.
“I think we should stay in Iraq. It is in the U.S.’s best interest to establish democracy there.”
