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podcast. We post something new every week and
you're going to find it informative. We want
to welcome to Veterans Radio today, Marine Landon
Longrear. who spent eight years in the Marine
Corps, came out as a sergeant, did tours over
in Afghanistan, which we're going to talk about,
and authored a book called the U .S. Marines
at the Battle for Sangen during an operation
and during freedom. The book covers right behind
him and over his head, as is his beautiful wife.
Lennon, welcome to Veterans Radio. Thanks, Jim.
Really appreciate the opportunity to be here.
Well, it's a very interesting and different sort
of book about being over there and fighting in
the sandbox because you grew up with certain
groundings in Christianity, a recognition of
consciousness and what's right and wrong and
a soul. And this really put all of that to it.
the test and we'll talk a little bit about that.
But how do high school kid like you down in Texas
find his way into the Marine Corps? Yeah, I,
you know, all throughout my upbringing, it was
always very apparent to me that serving in the
military was an honorable thing. You know, from
a Christian background, a major tenant of the
Christian faith is that the greatest of the Christian
faith are servants. They're servant hearted.
So the example that Jesus said is that he came
to serve, not to be served. And so as a part
of being an American and reaping the benefits
that generations of those that have gone before
us worked hard and sometimes fought wars over
to provide for us the way of life and freedoms
and liberties, the benefits of industry and prosperity.
And it was always apparent to me that the day
would come that it would be my responsibility
to take up the mantle. Make sure I continue those
make sure I continue our way of life forward
and do my part However, that looks and that doesn't
always mean military service for some but but
it just it did for me I Always felt that it was
my duty to serve and I always wanted to I can't
really remember a time that I ever Didn't want
to join the military You know 9 -eleven happened
when I was in seventh grade and while I couldn't
fully I couldn't fully appreciate the gravity
of that situation in my 13 -year -old mind. I
knew it was important, but I think more important
than that is that everything that followed, from
the early air bombing campaigns in Afghanistan
to the invasion of Iraq, which is a separate
issue, but back then, as a kid, I always felt
it was connected, and then the ground battles
that followed in Afghanistan, all of that was
during my formative years. I just understood
at the time in a very simple and fundamental
way that we were fighting on behalf of freedom.
We were defending our way of life against people
that were attacking and killing us, that hated
us, that hated our way of life. And we were liberating
masses of oppressed people into the same, giving
others across the world an opportunity to live
their lives free of the unwanted control of others.
And it was that simple for me. Part of that too
is when you went in, you knew what you were going
into. That's right. I went in peacetime and I
wasn't expecting that I might end up in war as
a marine rifleman. You knew where you were going
to end up and you end up in Afghanistan and in
Sagan province on a quick response force. And
the book really takes the reader through how
this impacted you at the core. You write about
this tension between violence and restraint and
the beauty of the province and the knowing that
that beauty is tied to poppies and opium. talk
about this dichotomy and tension issue that seems
to run throughout the book yeah i i i appreciate
you bringing that up i don't know that i um i
can certainly feel the tension maybe the dichotomy
and the bifurcation just that the paradox of
it all is that it was both good and bad in so
many ways and that really came out through the
writing um i remember getting to the point that
the manuscript was more or less pretty well formed
and just kind of realizing that like you know
when you're writing a paper in high school or
in college you're taught to take a position hold
a thesis and defend it and maybe give some counter
arguments but kind of stay in that position and
once I got well into writing I realized like
I don't really have a strong position on whether
this was a good or bad experience it was both.
And I don't think you can get away from that.
You know, some of the best of humanity comes
out in wartime experiences. People really step
up to the plate. The technological advances that
come during that time period, the heroics on
the battlefield, the links that men and women
will go to protect their fellow Marines or fellow
soldiers. I mean, the courage that it takes for
somebody to run out into the middle of a street
under a hail of gunfire to pull their buddy off
the ground that was just shot and wounded and
will die if not for that aid. I mean, it's just
some of the absolute best of humanity comes out,
but it's ultimately on this bedrock of brutality
of human on human brutality, which is just just
tragic. even in justified wars when they have
to be fought because because you have a tyrannical
enemy that is not going to stop unless somebody
stops them. It's still tragic. And so I felt
that I felt it all the way through. I acknowledge
that back then the war in Afghanistan, it was
that we were the good guys. Like this is a just
war. They were people that for the preceding
decades had attacked and killed innocent people
that culminated on the the bombings or the attack
on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, and
we had to do something about it. In addition
to that, the atrocities that were occurring in
Afghanistan at the time for just the local populace,
they were terrible. During that time in Afghanistan,
it was a warlord -run country. There was no centralized
government. There were seven predominant historical
tribes that were in the nation. And it was the
strongest survive. And there was raping and pillaging
all throughout. And our opportunity to go in
and create some stability and security and give
people the opportunity to, again, live freely
was worth doing. But again, it was ultimately
on this bed of human on human brutality. So I
always felt that tension. I don't think that
war was ever a part of God's intent for humanity
and the burdens of war that we now have to carry.
They're painful. They're still painful at times.
I've been able to grow and mature and age out
of some of that stuff and move on in life, but
the burden still weighs on me at times. So I
just, yeah, it's some of the best. Let me put
some time in context on this because it's 2011
when you get to in Afghanistan, a full 10 years
before we pull out of there in a chaos method
mode. So that gives people an idea like how the
lack of central government existed that decade
before. And also let me put some context around
your growth. I mean, you get out, you go on,
you get out of the Marine Corps, you go to pick
up your bachelor's of art, from Dallas Baptist
University in biblical studies. You then pick
up a master's of science in business from there
as well. You know, you get married, grow, raise
a family. So you have this separation between
that 2011 period when you experienced it and
being a much more mature, as you said, and kind
of grow out of it when you start writing. But
writing forces you to go back and relive these
experiences and it's that's not easy to do Right
before we get into some specific experiences
Explain to veteran radio listeners Langdon who
may not know what a QRF is Yeah, you're up is
a quick reaction force. And so if you it's just
a quick reaction or quick response I think fundamentally
a quick reaction force is a ready to go in a
moment's notice force to come to the aid of another
unit that's in duress that needs reinforcements
or to respond very quickly to any number of incidents
that are happening within a strategic area of
operation. And so we were on call in a moment's
notice. Think about like maybe a firehouse, how
firemen are They have to be suit kitted up and
in the truck and rolling out in two to three
minutes whenever the sirens run off That's kind
of how a quick reaction force operates We were
either stationary ready to go in moments notice
or we're out on the road the predominant amount
of our Combat experience and saying him we were
out. We're out on a strategic route within this
highly contested area of saying in this, you
know, very tumultuous battle space And we tried
to have presence outside the wire, kitted up
in the trucks, ready to respond to anything that
came our way, again, in a moment's notice. And
so sometimes that was responding to... We'll
go ahead. Go ahead, John. Well, and what I would
point out to our listeners is that what that
means is what you're going to end up seeing is
sort of, there's already stuff going down. That's
right. It's already a hot situation when QRFs
call out and rolls in. So that puts some context
on sort of the adrenaline and the mindset that
QRF has to have because you're being called out
to, hey, an IED's just gone off or this battle's,
gunfight's going on. We need to get some backup.
That's right. And you talk a little bit about
that sort of, am I excited or am I ashamed? Expand
on that a little bit. It's hard not to get excited.
You know, I liken the experience in some ways,
and it is a it's a really good way to think about
it. You know, being on a sports team. When you're
playing football, growing up, you're with your
team. You're expecting your guys to operate within
their positions and do what they're supposed
to play by play. And they're expecting you to
do the same. You really count on each other.
And you're going up against an opposing force
that's doing everything they can to stop you.
And we are working out, trying to get in shape,
trying to get strong, trying to get tough and
playing against this opposing force. And we're
trying to beat them. And that's an exciting thing.
I think it just scratches something within our
internal makeup as human beings, just the competition
in general. So thinking about it from that standpoint,
while much more violent and much more extreme
in life or death, training in the military, we're
training to go up against opposing forces. And
a part of the Marine Corps mentality, especially
in the lower ranks in the infantry, We understand
the broader strategy. We understand the commander's
intent. We understand the strategic initiatives
to an extent of what's going on in a war effort
in any given time. But the lower ranks don't
focus on that. Our focus is on winning battles.
And now in the context of Iraq, Afghanistan,
there was the coin mission. Like it was much
more muddy than just force on force engagement.
But fundamentally, it's just winning battles.
Do your job really well? and make sure you're
the one that survives it, not the enemy. And
so getting into these combat engagements for
a young Marine, it's like the pinnacle milestone
to achieve in the Marine Corps. Everything around
the Marine Corps ultimately boils down to and
evolves around winning wars, which means killing
the enemy. That's what's ingrained in you from
day one. That's the purpose of the Marine Corps,
the purpose of the military force is to win wars.
Um, that's a doctor. That's a part of the indoctrination
from day one. And, you know, the mentality of
combat forces is, uh, it's ultimately again,
just evolves around winning in combat. And so
as a young, as a young Marine, cause you know,
that's what you are at that point. You know,
you're, you're just out, um, the tip of the spear
here. Yeah. At some point after you have had
some of these experiences, you can feel maybe
a change in yourself and you write, how do I
keep my heart from heartening? That's right.
And was that a reflection that you had at the
time or a reflection that you had looking back?
No, that was a reflection that I had at the time.
I think the struggle of being a Christian at
war is from a biblical perspective, all of humanity
are children of God. I think that the way that
God feels about humanity in general is the way
that we feel about our own children. I think
that Genesis says that we're made in his image
of likeness. I think our relationships on earth
are reflections of the way that he feels about
us. And while, again, there are justifiable reasons
for engaging in combat, especially in a defensive
posture, getting excited about competing against
the supposing force that ultimately results in
the deaths of human beings, there's a tragedy
to it. I think the struggle for me was not engaging
in combat, but was the emotional toll and the
moral wear and tear. You know, it may be hard
to imagine, but in Sangen in particular, which
was the most kinetic combat operating zone in
the nation at the time, It was a daily struggle
against us versus them. It wasn't this game set
match where it was like, okay, we're going to
meet on Friday on this battlefield. We don't
really know a whole lot about you. You don't
know a whole lot about us. We're just going to
go up against each other and see how it goes.
We're daily studying them and hunting them and
trying to figure out what they're doing and why,
where their weak points are. where their strong
points are, what their motivations are, what
their strategic initiatives are, so that we can
combat them. They're doing the same thing to
us. It gets very personal. You know, as showcased
in the book, the way that our deployment started,
we were getting hit a lot with IEDs and we weren't
able to hit back. because the enemy was fighting
a guerrilla warfare tactic and they weren't wanting
to go head to head with us. And for right reason,
we had a major upside in a lot of ways, but it
started getting really personal. And I think
the struggle from a heart posture standpoint
is starting to feel a good amount of hatred and
bloodlust. You get hit. we hear about other friendly
forces that are getting hit guys that are dying
and being killed on the you know against this
enemy that's actively hunting us start feeling
a lot of very aggressive hatred towards those
other human beings well and you you had in the
book recounts you know you developed real personal
relationships with those that you're in combat
with and of course you do that's right folks
like doc rast and sergeant smith There are both
enemy fire instances discussed but also friendly
fire instances discussed and drone attacks that
go wrong. All of this has to be swirling in your
consciousness as long as you allow it in. I think
some guys coped by like locking everything out.
They lost their moral compass. They had to put
their moral compass aside. in order to survive
but what i really got out of reading here is
as those tragedies occur your your moral compass
was active and swinging it really impacted me
you're right some guys are able to disassociate
a little bit easier than others but maybe my
emotional makeup is just a little bit more pronounced
than than some i i felt all of it and they were
more you know There are moments most of the time
you can just disassociate keep a professional
You know do what you're trained to do and we
in a major part of Marine Corps training any
combat training ahead of actual combat is repetition
extreme amounts of Iteration iteration iteration
so that when you get in those environments, you're
more reactive Without thinking about it. You've
kind of developed some subconscious muscle memory
on how to respond to certain situations. But
there are times that it does get emotional and
that it does get personal. And, you know, you
mentioned the word shame. I think the only shame
that I really felt heavily outside of just the
just the heart attack tug on just the tragedy
of war was what was. wanting to kill people.
You know, I just didn't want to want destruction
on others. I was OK with the war as it was, perfectly
fine being there, completely OK killing. The
times that I really struggled is whenever I sought
it out, is whenever it got so personal and the,
you know, vengeance and retributional mentality
started taking over. That was my struggle. I
think from a moral standpoint, I didn't ever
get to the point that I got just outlandishly
vengeful to the point that the rails are off
completely and we would just go killing everybody.
There's never anything like that. It was always
battlefield, enemy, force on force. But again,
I just tried to stay Stay professional and not
emotional. Just wasn't always able to do that.
The book is US Marines at the Battle for St.
John's. We're talking to Landon Longyear who
did eight years in the Marine Corps, got out
in 2015, is now in the commercial brokerage space.
Life is pretty good at the moment. But the book
also talks about that transition struggle, right?
When you get out and the loss of the brotherhood
that you've so developed. And so go read the
book to capture some of that and maybe it'll
help understand what either you're going through
or somebody you know is going through. But there
was one section of the book we've got to talk
about before we run out of time. It's relative
to Garcia, one of the guys I'm with, and sort
of reactions back home during the... Go ahead
and tell this story. I don't want to mess it
up. Yeah, sure. It's an amazing story, and I
remember the conversations that I had with Garcia
when it happened. I'll just tell the story, then
I'll give my thoughts on it. Alfredo Garcia was
a Marine that I went through boot camp with and
we ended up at the same unit and we ended up
on that deployment together and he was my best
friend. I loved all the guys that I deployed
with and in a real sincere way depended on them
and we developed such tight -knit bonds, whether
we wanted to or not, but me and Alfredo were
tight. Well, toward maybe the later half of the
deployment, We were out in the, we left Sangin.
We were in a place called Dalaram in the Farah
province at the time, but it's over on kind of
the western part of Afghanistan, southwestern
part up against the border of Iran. And we're
fighting the opium trade. We're trying to stop
poppy plants from exiting Afghanistan and getting
into Iran where it could be cultivated and refined
into heroin and other. pharmaceuticals and then
shipped out to the rest of the world. During
that time, the opium trade was producing roughly
50 % of the Taliban's annual funding. So we're
trying to cut that revenue stream off. Well,
Alfredo was in the turret of a lead truck, four
trucks total, on a pretty standard patrol out
in the middle of the desert. They happened to
be very, very far away from the Ford operating
base that we were stationed at. And they were
just doing a standard presence patrol. I don't
recall if there was any strategic intent behind
that patrol or not, but they were out. On that
particular patrol, they were on the way back
to the FOB. They had already found and neutralized
at least one IED. There might have been two.
And at the end of the day, they were feeling
relatively successful and headed back. Well,
Alfredo in the turret of the lead truck, which
means he's faced forward, he starts to feel this
real heart tug, if you will. One of the things
that we had talked about in Sangin all the time
was that sometimes the Holy Spirit burdens us
for reasons, for important reasons. In particular,
we always felt, we always said, you know, if
you ever feel the Lord really tugging on your
heart to pray for protection, you should pray
for protection. And Alfredo had a moment like
that. and he said he just felt something really
strong come on, like something was about to happen.
And so he starts praying for protection. Well,
they're patrolling and he's in the lead truck
and they're probably pacing it 10 to 15 miles
an hour, maybe less. And Alfredo said 60 seconds
after, roughly after that burden hit him and
he started praying, a huge explosion went off
behind him. and it was the second truck in the
patrol had hit a huge 120 pound IED and flipped
the truck over, set it on fire, and a fiasco
occurred, you know, ensued after that, which
is detailed in the book heavily. And without
going through all of the details for time constraint,
when we... try to figure out how to shorten this
up I went out as a let me let me jump in to shorten
it up a little bit just stop me when I was reading
it to make my nose which was you get back and
his wife has emailed what happened and are you
okay yeah yeah yeah she in turn had heard from
somebody at her church service where this woman
approached her and said Something bad has happened
to your son, but the Lord wants to tell you that
he protected him and that he's going to be okay.
This is halfway around the world. Yeah. Yeah,
it was. Whenever we got back, Alfredo was really
mixed up and he came and told me about it. And
I had been out there as a part of the response
to help those guys. And so we were sitting out
there all night long, but in different trucks
and hadn't talked. But he told me. whenever that
explosion occurred he was facing forward in his
turret right after he got done praying he said
that he saw what he said was the brightest white
light he's ever seen in his life come down out
of the sky embrace him come down towards him
embrace him and then shoot into that truck behind
him and he was really mixed up about that he
wasn't really sure how to interpret that experience
but he just had this heart tug he prayed for
protection He obviously had some form or fashion
of a premonition that something was about to
happen, which he and I would associate as being
like a God moment. And then he saw this bright
white light out of the sky come down and shoot
into that truck. And so afterwards, he's not
sure how to interpret this. Like you said, we
get back 25 hours later. He goes to the computer
center and there's an email in his inbox from
his mom who at a church service the very day
before, while it had happened, before she ever
could have found out about it from us, she was
freaked out that something had happened. He got
her on the phone and she said, a woman in a church
service, a prophetic woman came up to me and
said, something bad has happened to your son,
but the Lord wants you to know that he protected
him. And now like the experience is validated.
Halfway around the world like you said in the
most incredibly profound way Alfredo had an angelic
encounter after this divine burden to pray for
protection and as it would happen of the guys
in the vehicle five of them at least four that
I know of were Christians in a real way and The
explosion should have killed all of them, but
every single one of them survived some names
I got to this point in the book, which was towards
the back Make sure you read it all the way from
page 169 to get to Garcia's story. The subtitle
on this should have been Christian Warriors or
something. It's very, as I say at the outset,
there's a lot of books about battles and guys
and whatnot. What I found very interesting, Landon,
is that you were candid, open about the role
that your religious beliefs played throughout
and how it played throughout with other folks.
Yeah. And, you know, happy to hear about how
well you're doing now and the service that you
gave to the country. I appreciate the time that
you've given us here on Veterans Radio. I wanted
to get to see the story. So thanks for doing
that. But yeah, really, really happy to have
you on Veterans Radio and tell your unique story.
of being a Marine in Saigon province. You bet,
Jim. Yeah, I'm honored to be here and I appreciate
what you do to just kind of showcase war stories.
It's really important and it's meaningful. So
thank you for the work that you do. And I want
to thank everybody for listening to Veterans
Radio today. I am Jim Fawzone. It's been a pleasure
to be your host. I'm a veterans disability lawyer
at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach
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