Outbreak of Gulf War Pt. 1, 1991, by M. Bygness

From MemoryArchive

Who: M. Bygness 
What: Outbreak of Gulf War I
When: 1991
Where: Fort Dodge, IA

It had been weeks since my much older cousin Joel had shipped out with his Marine Reserve Unit. The deadline had been established and we knew that Desert Shield would become Desert Storm. The news cycles were working hard and everyone was more than aware and prepared for the unleashing of American forces in the Gulf. Like almost every other night of the week, I was at my gym with the rest of my gymnastics team. Our coach called us back to sit down in a circle as a team; he wanted us to know the war had started. Though we knew this was coming, I still recall being slightly surprised. I had been thinking for years at that point that it was really strange we hadn't had any major incursions since Vietnam. Apparently, I got my "wish". The commodification of Desert Storm was more than I could really understand at 12 or 13. I didn't have the analytical framework to fully understand why I was so ill at ease about the whole thing. Though my experience this time around has been different, that box set of Desert Storm Trading Cards (TM) by Topps is collecting dust on the top shelf of the closet in my childhood bedroom.