SGT Zach Pierce, U.S. Army (2002-2008)

This was taken some time in the summer of 2004, FAAAR FAR outside Bagram, Afghanistan. We were on some sort of multi-day mission to explore distant villages from our very remote outpost in the Tarin Kowt region. My unit, A Co (QUICKSTRIKE!) sent our platoon with minimal supervision, to a village that, it was said, had never seen American forces during the entire Afghanistan war, to that point. In this photo, we had just been dropped off and had wandered a few clicks when we came across this village. There were a few camels and me, being a touchy-feely kind of specialist, just had to see the camels. My squad leader and I both got camel rides thanks to my charisma!

But in all seriousness, this whole mission was a lot of fun. I think I saw some of the most beautiful landscapes on this mission, climbed some of the highest mountains I’ve ever seen. The people were so enthusiastic and hospitable. When you travel hundreds of miles over mountains in a foreign place, you expect to see more of the same – desert, mountains, disinterested people, exhaustion. But this mission was different. And this image, to me, pretty much sums up my entire deployment to Afghanistan: strange. Most images focus on combat, and I have a lot of those, but I prefer to remember Afghanistan as my true coming of age. I turned 21 in country! I got my first CIB! I walked in the footsteps of Alexander the Great. This picture brings back so many memories. And it all started with a camel ride.

Read the Military Memories of our Runner-Ups.