Johnny Dawson

Segment Synopsis: Dawson talks about his childhood growing up in northern Kentucky and central Ohio. He was inspired to join the Marines after reading a book called White Feather, but also because he wanted to be a part of a greater cause. He signed up to the delayed entry program shortly before 9/11 after which his mother tried to convince him not to go. He found that the terrorist attacks only fueled his desire to be a Marine.

Keywords: Circleville (Ohio); September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; White Feather

Subjects: 9/11; Childhood; White Feather

Segment Synopsis: Dawson left for the military the very same day as his high school graduation and attended basic training at Parris Island where he found that he was a good leader. Originally wanting to be a scout sniper Dawson was reassigned to the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton to train as a land assault vehicle specialist. He was again reassigned to the 2/7 Marines at Twentynine Palms were he again excelled in leadership and was made a team leader at nineteen.

Keywords: Basic training (Military education); Camp Pendleton (Calif.); Infantry School (U.S.); LAV-25 (Armored military vehicle); Leadership; Parris Island (S.C. : Recruit depot); Twentynine Palms (Calif.); United States. Marine Corps. Marine Regiment, 7th. Battalion, 2nd; United States. Marine Corps. Marine Regiment, 7th. Battalion, 3rd

Subjects: 3/7 to 2/7 Marines 1st squad 1st platoon echo company; Basic Training; School of Infantry

Segment Synopsis: Dawson talks about what he remembers from arriving in Kuwait and what it was like living at Forward Operating Base Hit. He describes his mission as being to "win the hearts and minds" of the Iraqi people, which he found to be at odds with his military training. He describes his platoon's first loss to an improvised explosive device and his way of coping with the situation.

Keywords: Al Asad Airbase (Iraq); Armored vehicles, Military--Protection; Barr, Eric; Barracks; Explosives, Military; HMMWV; Hīt (Iraq)

Subjects: Armoring Humvees; Arriving in Kuwait; First loss; Forward Operating Base Hīt

Segment Synopsis: Dawson describes the constant mortaring of their forward operating base and the effect that has on morale. Some of the decisions made by the commanding officers seemed self-destructive to Dawson, he describes how irrational decisions put soldiers in harms way.

Keywords: Explosives, Military; Great Britain. Royal Marines; Mortars (Ordnance); Road construction; Self-destructive behavior

Subjects: Improvised explosive devices; Irrational decisions; Mortaring of Hīt

Segment Synopsis: Dawson talks about how he felt the war related to the events of September 11 and how he began to wonder whether Iraq is really where they should be fighting. He also recalls his final tour in Iraq and the seat belt ticket that made him decide not to reenlist.

Keywords: Afghanistan; Bin Laden, Osama, 1957-2011; Fallujah, Battle of, Fallūjah, Iraq, 2004; HMMWV; Military reconnaissance; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; Weapons of mass destruction

Subjects: 9/11; Final tour; Questioning tactics; Seat belt ticket

Segment Synopsis: The battle of Fallujah in 2004 was the largest door to door offensive since Vietnam. Dawson describes Fallujah as the type of operation that he became a marine to accomplish. He talks about how he and his best friend were separated by one letter of the alphabet and how he wishes he could have been in his regiment. He also describes how a shepherd boy helped them uncover the largest weapons cache in Iraq and the price he paid.

Keywords: Collins, John; Explosives, military; Fallujah, Battle of, Fallūjah, Iraq, 2004; Fallūjah (Iraq); IS (Organization); Military intelligence; Mortar (ordnance); Ramadi (Iraq)

Subjects: 2/4 and 3/7 Marines; Consequences; Done Differently; Fallujah; Finding a weapons cache

Segment Synopsis: From the Fall of 2004 to the Fall 2005 Dawson served as a Marksmanship Instructor at Twentynine Palms Combat Center. He describes the mojave viper training course that was created to prepare Marines to deploy to Iraq. He explains why he volunteered to return to Iraq for his second deployment.

Keywords: Explosives--Detection; Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (U.S.); Primary Marksmanship Instructor; Urban warfare

Subjects: Marksmanship instruction; Pre-Deployment training; Returning to Iraq

Segment Synopsis: Dawson describes his duties during his second tour in Iraq, which included protecting the Colonel as he was traveling. During this tour he met Chris Kyle a Navy SEAL sniper famous for his book and movie "American Sniper." He also discusses patrolling with the Marine Gunner, or Infantry weapons officer, where he acted as his .50 cal machine gunner.

Keywords: Armored vehicles, Military--Protection; Bomb reconnaissance; Kyle, Chris, 1974-2013; Mines (Military explosives)--Detection; United States. Marine Corps. Force Reconnaissance Company, 1st; United States. Navy. SEALs

Subjects: Mission in Iraq; Navy SEALs; Operational work

Segment Synopsis: Dawson decided to leave the military after an IED explosion caused injuries to his hip and wrist and the Marines wouldn't allow him to return to a combat position. He fulfilled a promise to his mother by attending college at the Ohio State University majoring in Criminology. He interned with the Secret Service and had the opportunity to work protection details for President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. Ultimately he decided that a life in law enforcement wasn't what he wanted and turned to a career as a financial advisor with Edward Jones.

Keywords: Columbus (Ohio); Criminology; Fatherhood; Injuries; Investments; Obama, Barack; Ohio State Highway Patrol; Ohio State University; Physical therapy; Secret service; United States. Central Intelligence Agency; United States. Drug Enforcement Administration; United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation

Subjects: Job Choices; Law Enforcement; Leaving the military

Segment Synopsis: Dawson discusses his struggles with PTSD and depression after leaving the Marine Corps. His wife and his faith are credited with helping him overcome his problems, and he now leads a Bible study for people suffering from PTSD. He also recalls considering suicide and why he didn't take his own life.

Keywords: Baptism; Bible study; Evangelical Church; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Psychiatrists; Suicide; United States. Veterans Administration; Wesleyan Church

Subjects: Cypress Church; PTSD; PTSD Bible study; Suicide

Segment Synopsis: Dawson reflects on his service and how it changed him into a person who is very resilient, and everyday problems don't stress him. He wants people to know that serving in the military is a choice and that many people have other options, but they enter for noble reasons. He also talks about the things he hears about going on in the Middle East and given the opportunity he would go back.

Keywords: Military service, Voluntary--United States; Resilience (Personality trait)

Subjects: Resiliency; Service is a choice; Would you do it again

Segment Synopsis: Dawson says that as long as it's done with respect and at the right time questioning orders can be beneficial. He talks about a time a truck was driven into a flooded river at night while trying to cross a river, all but one of the men on board died, he wished someone had questioned that order.

Keywords: Authority; Respect

Subjects: Navigating the chain of command

Segment Synopsis: Dawson talks about how he overcame the emotional disconnect after coming home. He discusses what people need to get through PTSD, and how God's plan shaped his life.

Keywords: Post-traumatic stress disorder; Psychiatric service dogs; Veteran reintegration

Subjects: God's plan; Overcoming numbness