EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS COMMENTARY FROM REPRESENTATIVE MATTHEW GWYNN IS PART OF UTAH POLITICAL UNDERGROUND’S OPINION SERIES REFLECTING ON 9/11’s 20th ANNIVERSARY.
Without any fanfare the year 2001 marched into existence without the cloud of worries and conspiracy theories that had enveloped our entrance into the new millennia just twelve months prior. Ironically, the only divisive issue at the time was whether George W. Bush was in fact the duly elected President of the United States, courtesy of the hanging chad and the Florida recount controversy.
I had just re-enlisted into the United States Air Force Reserve after having served for four years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps. The threat of recall to active duty was stressed, but statistically speaking I felt the odds were that would not occur. Clearly, I had never been more wrong. I missed the military lifestyle and camaraderie I enjoyed in the Marine Corps but wanted to be closer to home so I could begin my law enforcement career in the same community I was raised. I was hired by the Weber County Sheriff’s Office in February 2001. My wife, Shelly, and I were married a couple of months later. 2001 was turning out to be a great adventurous year for the both of us.
In October 2001, I was deployed in support of various operations both at home and abroad. At only 22 years old, Shelly found her husband of only four months simply gone, with a return date unknown to either of us. At the last minute we celebrated our four months of marriage by completing my last will and testament. The apartment was suddenly barer and quieter than Shelly had bargained for; she immediately inherited all those responsibilities that we could no longer share.
2021 marks our twentieth wedding anniversary, the twentieth anniversary of my law enforcement career, and sadly the twentieth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. The last twenty years have been fleeting. What has been lasting is the knowledge of the weight and burden Shelly carried while I was deployed. Without warning her exciting new and adventurous life and home was uprooted. She was worried about me while I was gone, but painstakingly managed everything at home in my absence. I had nothing to worry about, but the mission laid in front of me. I had nothing to worry about because Shelly did all the worrying. We were young with very little contractual or social responsibility. Also, I was fortunate to return home. Our situation was likely an anomaly compared to other service members who may have larger families, and more numerous responsibilities. We should never forget the families or minimize their experiences when a loved one is deployed, especially Gold Star families. While uncomfortable, scary, and only temporary, it was through this experience with Shelly that I recognized that the families of service members sacrifice more and fight just as hard their loved ones who are deployed. For servicemembers freedom does have a taste that they shall only know. I posit that for the family of those servicemembers freedom has a different taste, a taste that the general public nor the servicemember themselves will ever know.
