Neal Fisher, age 63, is content to let today’s servicemen and women defend our nation. After all, he has already done his part. He gave the U.S. Army and Air Force 22 years of his life, deploying to Iraq twice during Operation Iraqi Freedom and to Saudi Arabia once for Operation Enduring Freedom.
Today, Fisher and his wife of 30 years, Debra, live in Quinton, Oklahoma, and they and their son, Gunnar, often volunteer at local VFWs and DAVs. Fisher used his mechanical and welding skills to rebuild a 1942 Ford General Purpose Willys jeep, which he proudly drives in veteran parades.
Duty Calls
Was he nervous about deploying to Iraq? No. “I wanted to serve my country…I was trying to do a job, this big job to work on vehicles and recover vehicles and do metal fabrication…I didn’t worry about being shot at.”
First Deployment to Iraq
Fisher deployed to Camp Taji, 20 miles north of Baghdad, from January 17, 2005, to December 31, 2005. He served with the 637th Maintenance Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia. Coalition forces invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003, and when major military combat actions ended on May 1st, 2003, they occupied Iraq.
Keeping the Army Rolling
“We (16-person mechanic team) worked as welders, fabricators. We’d go to vehicles that were blown up and cutting the up-armored off of, like tanks and MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambushed Protected) vehicles, and tracks, and putting them up on HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles) because they were soft skin vehicles.”
As he described long days in the motor pool, Fisher’s voice quickened and his hands gestured. His passion for repairing machinery was obvious.
The team also worked on the Family of Light and Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTVs), which are 2.5-ton and 5-ton cargo trucks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Abrams tanks. If the Army drove it, Fisher’s team could repair it.
Field work “was hot, humid, sticky weather. In the summertime, we got up to 140 (degrees).” Mortars occasionally exploded.
“They’d also wake me up in the middle of the night because I was a journeyman heavy duty welder, and they’d have me repairing equipment that was just brought in at 12 o’clock at night. It had to be up to 100% standard grade to support the soldiers in the field that needed it immediately.”
Any additional duty? “Sometimes they’d have me on guard tower work (sentry) around the FOB (Forward Operating Base) and they’d have me drive that FMTV truck, and I dropped all the soldiers off and there was like 10 towers.”
When his unit returned to Fort Stewart, he received orders to Fort Carson, Colorado.
Back to Iraq
Although Fisher spent nine months at Fort Carson with the 2nd Infantry Division before deploying again, “We were out in the field every month for three weeks. And I never got to spend any time with my family when I was there at Fort Carson because we were training to go back to Iraq.”
On October 6, 2006, Fisher deployed again – this time to Camp Rusty Meyer (Camp Rustamiyah), near Sadr City, Baghdad, through December 22, 2007 – 14 months. This deployment was worse, much worse. “We called it Mortar Alley because every week we’d get shelved with motors like two or three times a day.”
One day, insurgents unloaded a hail of gunfire at the motor pool. Fisher excitedly recalled, “We were under a mortar attack. I didn’t know it. And sniper attack. I was being shot at. I was working underneath a HMMWV as a welder, fabricator on a frame. They’re up on a tall building.”
Unaware of the attack because of loud generators nearby, he continued repairing the vehicle outside. Fellow soldiers ran and took cover. Two hours later as they looked for him, Fisher emerged from underneath, unharmed. The HMMWV over him saved his life.
Other close calls followed. “We were doing PT, like I and five other soldiers, it was like 5:00, 6:30 in the morning roughly, you know? And we get a mortar attack. Missed us about 20 feet.” The soldiers dove into a concrete shelter, escaping injury.
Burn Pits
Deployed coalition soldiers saw, smelled and walked through the smoke from burn pits as they consumed plastic, paper, wood – anything that would burn. “The burn pits were constantly going; a constant black cloud. And that was at Camp Taji and Rusty Meyer. We basically ran PT, we welded and was breathing in the smoke from the burn pits all the time, 24 hours a day. It came into the AC, everything.”
A fun moment stands out. “I and a friend of mine went into the chow hall for Christmas dinner and Kid Rock (Robert Ritchie) was there and we just had a mortar attack that morning. And Kid Rock said he wanted to see the troops, regardless.”
The Lasting Impact of War
Returning home after a long deployment can be difficult for many veterans. “That last tour, that was pretty rough. I had a lot of anxiety when I came back. Debra added, “On edge. Fourth of July still bothers him, the smell and the sound.” Gunnar said, “After that one, no one was the same, meaning our home life was different.” All three adjusted because Debra was working and Gunnar had “became the man of the house as a young teenager.”
Debra is worried about his health. “I remember about a month ago, he had a blood clot in the lung. And he also is fighting bladder cancer. Every four months he gets checked.” Those could be a result of the burn pits. Since Fisher has a 100% rating from the DAV, they haven’t filed a claim for that.
Fisher enlisted in August 1986 and served 10 active duty years in the Army, seven years in the Army National Guard, and five years in the Air Force Reserve (activated for a year after 9-11). He retired with the rank of E-4 Specialist in 2010. His decorations include two Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star.
Serving Veterans
At the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 20 in Krebs, Oklahoma, he’s the Sergeant at Arms (also for the state), fundraises and participated in McAlester’s Armed Forces Day parade three times with the jeep. Debra is a member of the DAV’s Auxiliary as a local and state officer. Luke Armstrong, DAV Commander, said, “Neal is the perfect example of a combat veteran who is willing to volunteer his time to assist any other veterans and their families.”
Fisher also belongs to McAlester’s VFW Post 1098, where he participates in the Honor Guard and volunteers during bingo nights. Father and son participated in 2025’s Veterans Day parade in Hartshorne, Oklahoma, driving the WWII jeep and displayed military uniforms and gear in the town’s old Armory.
If you drop by the DAV or VFW, have a talk with Fisher because he enjoys discussing our military from the far past (WWII), past (Iraq), and present. Maybe he’ll tell you about being a paratrooper (Airborne!) with the 19th Special Forces Group in the Air National Guard. You’ll have an interesting talk reminiscing with this combat veteran who answered the call to duty. •
story and photos by Lt Col Richard Stephens, Jr., USAFR, Ret.
