![]() “I never talk about what I did.”Īfter Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, seizing its oil fields, President Bush called for his immediate withdrawal, building a coalition of some 40 nations and amassing troops in Saudi Arabia and ships in the Persian Gulf. “I can’t … then everything comes flooding back to me,” Bosque said. Now that Torres, 57, is retired from both the military and 15 years as a state corrections officer, he finds himself dwelling on his time in the Gulf, remembering the threat of chemical attacks and another soldier’s weapon misfire that nearly hit a fellow soldier.Įven though two of Bosque’s adult children have served in the Air Force, he’s never talked to them or any of his family about his wartime service. The smell of burnt flesh lingers alongside war’s horrific images for Quiles, a 48-year-old Paterson native who carried those memories with him years later on another deployment to Iraq in 2006. Now, 25 years after the Persian Gulf War ended in a resounding victory, the short-lived conflict has faded from memory for many Americans or has been eclipsed by the eight-year-long quagmire that unfolded in the same war zone after the 2003 Iraq war.īut for the three North Jersey residents - and the more than 650,000 other veterans of the Gulf War - the war remains a daily presence in their lives.Īll three have turned gray, and have added a few pounds as they kept marriages going and watched children grow into teenagers and adults.īut while they take pride in their service, they also can turn melancholy when they reflect on what they experienced and what happened in Iraq a decade later. New Jersey residents among the Persian Gulf War dead: ![]()
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