"My American Hero" an essay by Lena Willit

 My American Hero is Sergeant William Bruck, currently serving in Iraq.  He's not only my Hero, but he is a close cousin too.

William is the son of my mom's sister Rose. He is the fifth born of eight children. William was a mischievous child. He might have been a real trouble maker, but everyone still loved him.

After High School, he joined National Guard, then switched to Army Reserves while going to college in Wisconsin. While in Wisconsin, he met Natalie, his future wife. After their marriage they moved to Carleton, Michigan and had a baby boy.  His name is Gregory.  Two years later, Zechariah was born. Despite Zechariah being very sick, when he was a few weeks old, William re-enlisted again. Shortly after, the Country was shocked by the events of September 11th.

Even though William was a  "weekend warrior" his unit was called up for active duty. He packed his bags, said his good-byes and did his duty.

He had a lot of reasons not to go to Iraq...He didn't want to leave his wife and sons, his parents, and the rest of the family.  He was very active in the Church, and he didn't want to leave all that. William is a man with a lot to live for.

He also had a lot of reasons to go...He had pledged an oath to defend his Country, and really believed in the Pledge Of Allegiance. That we are "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all". And he knew that this Liberty came with a price, a price paid by many of his fellow servicemen through the years.

William is my hero because he left his family, his friends, his church, and everything near and dear to him to go to war. He never asked "Why", he just asked "where".  It is people like William, and all the other sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sisters, and cousins who believe in America enough to defend her, that keep us safe.

Through times of tears and of fears, through times of joy and sorrow, William has been in our hearts and minds. We are counting down the days until he can be with us again. He is a soldier, and he is my American Hero. 

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