Jason Black
From Today's (Sunday's) Shreveport Times. Nice article......
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...505080322/1029
La. Tech receiver returns from Iraq in time for Mother's Day
May 8, 2005
By Brian Vernellis
bvernellis@gannett.com
For nearly a year, Cpl. Jason Black missed holidays, birthdays and other family milestones while patrolling Iraqi streets with the Bossier City-based Bravo Company of the 1/23 Marines.
His mother, Jennifer Lee, spent sleepless nights praying and worrying about him, relying on the support of friends who rallied to her side.
This Mother's Day has deep and lasting poignancy for her. Her prayers for his safety were answered. Her oldest son is home for his first holiday with the family in a year -- safe and sound from the dangers of Iraq.
"I always tell everybody it wasn't the Marines Corps that got me ready for whatever I had to do in the Marines Corps," Black said. "It was my mom.
"She's always been the one to try and tell me right from wrong. She's a pretty good disciplinarian. She's always been the one to make sure I'm doing right in school. She keeps me level-headed."
His thoughts remain with his fellow troops still stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but his focus is on returning to class at Louisiana Tech and getting in shape for the Bulldogs' football season.
Black, 24, left his studies and his teammates in Ruston when his company was called into action just before last year's spring game. But he was back for this year's game, Bone Bowl III, watching from the sidelines.
He, his teammates and the coaching staff shared an emotional moment following last year's spring game. When the game had finished, his teammates lined up and hugged him, offering words of encouragement. His fellow receivers presented him with a football they signed.
Head coach Jack Bicknell allowed him to address his teammates.
"I think it got the players' attention too that here he was risking his life," Bicknell said.
Black stared out at their faces and opened his heart to them. The words trickled out from the reserved young man. He was proud to be their teammates. He loved every minute being with them.
He would do everything he could to track their progress over the season and he couldn't wait to get back on the team for the next season.
Yet, in the back of his mind, there lingered the possibility that he might not return to the Louisiana Tech campus and see these faces again.
He was in California the following week training for his mission.
His involvement in the Marines began after a brief stint at Louisiana-Monroe. He played football at Huntington and graduated in 1999. He tried to jump-start his football career at ULM as a walk-on.
Things didn't develop as he planned so he left to enlist in the military.
After basic training in San Diego, he was back in Louisiana as a reservist with Bravo Company. He enrolled at Louisiana College in the fall 2001, but his school year came to an abrupt end with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11
The attack on America called many reservists into action. His assignment was to Camp X-Ray at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, guarding Taliban and al-Qaeda suspects.
He enrolled at Tech for the fall 2003 term after his seven-month tour in Cuba.
An injured hamstring kept him out of participating with the Bulldogs in the fall, but he was there for the 2004 spring game, catching three passes. A few weeks before the game, the company received its orders to ship out.
"You're watching the news and you see all this stuff going on and you're trying to pinpoint where he's at or where you're pretty sure where he's at, " Lee said. "It's really bad. It made me worry about him."
Her fears weren't calmed when she learned Jacob Schick, a soldier in Bravo Company, was wounded shortly after their arrival. Schick lost his right foot and a finger on his left hand as a result of a roadside bomb.
"That hit close to home," Lee said. "It was kind of scary and they just got there. You don't have any imagination on how bad it is. Just seeing it on the news is probably nothing compared to being there and living like that."
The 120-plus members of Bravo Company had a seven-month tour in Iraq where they spent most of the time patrolling the al Anbar province, the largest province in Iraq.
It contains a substantial portion of the heated Sunni Triangle region and the city of Fallujah, site of some of the heaviest fighting.
"You never did know what would happen when you went outside the wire, these firm bases," Black said. "We'd have to leave those to go do our patrols.
"You're always on alert anytime you're in a foreign country with all those things going off. Especially when you go outside the wire, that's when you put your head on a swivel."
His mother noticed a subtle change in him since his return. He's more grounded and gained more perspective about life.
He's eager for summer classes and another football season to start. He's been working out daily after losing 20 pounds to the heat and stresses of Iraq. Mentally, he's been ready for school and football since he left a year ago.
The thoughts of football, school and the life waiting for him upon his return sustained him through the difficult moments.
Bicknell is hopeful Black can work his way up from the scout team and contribute every Saturday for the Bulldogs.
"He's always worked extremely hard," Bicknell said.
"He's a wonderful person. We have so much respect for him. He was never bitter about having to go. He went over there and did his duty. You can't thank him enough."
He may be getting ready for school and football, but he knows there are fellow troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with more to lose than playing time on a football team.
"I just play football," Black said. "It's just a game, I love it, but it's just a game."
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Originally Posted by StrayDawg
