Kevin Sites - The Things They Cannot Say

William Christopher Wold (WW):It gets dark and we’re gonna be hurtin’.

Kevin Sites (KS):Did you see what happened over there?

WW:Yeah, well, one of the other NCOs was just walkin’ by Danger. We had security. One of these fuckin’ shitheads just jumped out and fuckin’ shot him a bunch of times. And then ran and jumped over a fuckin’ wall and we couldn’t get his ass. He got shot five or six times. The sappy plate stopped most of the rounds. One went right into his fuckin’ … one went into his neck and the other one went into his arm.

KS:What’s your name, man?

WW:What’s that?

KS:What’s your name?

WW:Willy.

KS:Willy, what’s your last name?

WW:Wold. Corporal Wold.

KS:Wold? How do you spell that?

WW:W-O-L-D. Only got six months left, man. I just wanna get the fuck out of this place. Get outta my corps.

KS:Outta the Marine Corps, too?

WW:Yeah. I’m done. I’ll be a sergeant pretty soon and then I’m gonna get out.

KS:How many years do you have?

WW:I’ve been in three and a half.

KS:How old are you?

WW:I just turned twenty-one.

KS:Where are you from?

WW:Washington State.

KS:The stuff you’ve seen during this war…

WW:What’s that?

KS:The stuff you’ve seen during this war, has it changed you?

WW:I… you gotta say that again.

KS:The stuff that you’ve had to see in this war, and do, has it changed you?

WW:Yeah. A lot. I’m real young. I joined the Marine Corps at seventeen. I guarded the president of the United States for two and a half years and then I came out here. It’s changed me a lot. [8] Wold’s mother had to give her permission to allow him to join while he was still in high school. He was selected out of boot camp for a special Marine presidential protection unit. He guarded President George W. Bush during his retreats to Camp David.

KS:How so?

WW:It just changes your aspect on life. You don’t take a lot of shit for granted that you used to.

KS:You had to shoot some guys today.

WW:Yeah.

KS:Was that hard to do?

WW:No. I don’t have a problem shootin’ shitheads.

KS:Have you had to do it before this?

WW:Yeah. I shot twelve guys since I’ve been here.

KS:Twelve guys and you just turned twenty-one?

WW:What’s that?

KS:Twelve guys and you’ve just turned twenty-one?

WW:[ Laughs ] Yeah. I get out at twenty-one. I came in at seventeen. I graduated high school a year early to do this shit.

KS:Are you glad you did?

WW:No. If I could take it back, I wouldn’t do it.

KS:Why?

WW:I’d go to college, man. College is where it’s at. I’m glad I’m here defending my country, though. I’m not here for the Iraqi people. I’m here for the American people.

KS:Do a lot of guys feel the same way that you do?

WW:What’s that?

KS:Do you think that a lot of guys feel the same way that you do?

WW:I know that a lot of guys hate these fuckin’ shitheads. I’m tired of seein’ my brothers get hurt. I’ve had four of my best friends get killed since I’ve been here.

KS:Is it frustrating?

WW:It’s extremely frustrating. Let me find that guy. They shoot us and run. They hit us with IEDs [improvised explosive devices]. They’re cowards. That’s why I don’t have a problem shootin’ any of them.

KS:Do you feel like this offensive has been worthwhile, that you’ve been able to do something with it?

WW:What’s that?

Note: Wold, like a lot of troops in heavy combat, seems to be experiencing some hearing loss.

KS:Do you feel like this offensive has been worthwhile?

WW:I’m gettin’ rid of terrorists, I know that. If I can save one American from getting hurt, then I’m doing my job. I don’t care about my life. I care about my family’s lives. That’s the only reason I’m here. I’d come back here in an instant. I hate being here every day, but it’s for my family.

KS:Why are you gettin’ out?

WW:What’s that?

KS:Why are you getting out?

WW:I just wanna be normal. I wanna live a normal life.

KS:Do you think you can after this?

WW:I’m sure I’ll be all right. I’ve changed a lot since I joined the Marine Corps, though. Especially being here. You just… I’ll never take anything for granted ever again.

KS:Does it harden you?

WW:Um, my last command hardened me pretty much. This place will… it’ll make you pretty hard. It’ll give you some thick skin. [ Explosion ] I’m tired of that, too.

KS:Too much bang there?

WW:Too much big booms.

KS:What will you do after this?

WW:I got a scholarship to play football.

KS:Where are you gonna do that?

WW:WSU. Go Cougs! [ He makes a victory sign. ]

KS:What position?

WW:I’m a linebacker. I had a full-ride scholarship out of high school, but I joined the Marine Corps instead.

KS:Why’d you do that?

WW:Um, my pops always told me it’s my duty to serve my country as a young American, so… He was killed when I was twelve, so I figured I’d do what he told me to do.

KS:Was he a Marine, too?

WW:Nah, he was in the Army.

KS:How was he killed?

WW:He was murdered when I was twelve.

KS:How did that happen?

WW:I don’t know. They never found the guy that did it. [9] The police report says it may have been an accident. Wold’s father, Thomas Nelson, was found on an icy road with a broken neck when William was only eleven. Wold’s family says he was unsettled by the death and believed it had been a homicide.

KS:So you did it in his memory?

WW:What’s that?

KS:You joined in his memory?

WW:I just joined to help Americans. I love my family and my fiancée. I never want her to ever have to worry about anybody coming into our country. I’d rather kill ’em in their backyard than have ’em come into our backyard. [ Explosion ] Look at that. [ He points to the orange flameout of a nearby air strike. ] The more I kill here the less I’ve got to worry about coming into my country.

KS:Does it scare you at all, though? That, like, you have to break into a house like that and you guys have guns pointed at you?

WW:I don’t have time to think about that shit. When I first got here, I was always worried about… my friend told me today, “Man, you were so worried about getting killed when you first got here.” But now, I don’t have time to think about that shit. You bust into a house… Just like today, I had people pointing AKs at me. And I was thinkin’, “I have to shoot them.” I shot six people in less than ten seconds. It’s just what you’ve got to do. That shit goes right out the window. And you don’t have to push.