Congressman Braley Steps Up For Returning Soldier

May 21, 2011 4 Comments ›› Angelia

It’s stories like these that remind me that some in this nation are grateful.. Happy Armed Forces Day.

WCF Courier
He knew it wouldn’t be easy, getting out of Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Nathan Rose, of the 113th Cavalry, Iowa National Guard, knows about the toils of travel, having also served in Iraq.

But familiarity doesn’t necessarily make it easier when you’re spending precious leave hours in an airport, watching your flights being canceled.

Rose, 24, already had left Afghanistan later than planned. Then there’s the customary day or two in Kuwait before leaving for the States.

He arrived in Atlanta at 9 a.m. Friday. Six hours later, he found himself scanning one of the departure screens for a flight – any flight that would get him near his home just outside Iowa City. The Cedar Rapids connection wasn’t going to happen, so it looked like Chicago to Moline was his best bet.

Then came a tap on his shoulder.

“He said, ‘I’m Bruce Braley. Thank you for your service,’” Rose said. “I knew he was a representative (of the U.S. House), but he’s not in my district. He recognized the Iowa Guard patch and wanted to know how I was doing.

“We eventually realized we were both on the same flight to Chicago.”

The congressman and the soldier had plenty of time before their 9 p.m. flight.

“He said, ‘I think you’ve had a pretty long day. Let me buy you dinner,’” Rose said. “He also let me have his first-class seat. It was really nice. I didn’t ask for anything.”

Braley laughed at the memory Monday, asking that it be made “perfectly clear” that he did not buy a first-class ticket. He was upgraded to the expensive seats, he said, because he uses the airline so frequently.

“I went to the gate to see what was going on, and I saw ‘up’ next to my name,” Braley said. “I knew what I was going to do with it. They called for boarding for first-class, and I asked Nathan if he had his boarding pass.

“He held it up, and I snatched it from him and said, ‘They’re calling your row.’

“He tried to take it back, and I said, ‘I don’t want to have to order you. Get on the plane.’”

Braley said he knew he had done the right thing when he got to Rose’s seat, 44C, at the very back of the airplane.

“I spent my flight next to a very harried young mother, a baby and a little boy named Eddie whom I got to know quite well.”

But Rose’s long trip home to Iowa wasn’t over yet. The connection to Moline from Chicago was canceled. So Braley stepped up again.

“He wouldn’t let me help pay for the rental car,” Rose said. “He took me all the way back to Iowa City, even though he was staying in the Quad-Cities. I didn’t get back until 2:30 a.m., and it was even later for him.”

Braley said it was close to 4 a.m. by the time he got to his hotel room in the Quad-Cities. Saturday was a 13-plus-hour day of events, and someone on his staff commented on what a hassle he’d been through. But he doesn’t see it that way.

“I run into soldiers all the time in airports,” he said. “This was an extraordinary situation. A well-deserving young man was just trying to get home to be with his family.”

Rose said he’s still surprised by the congressman’s extra attention.

“He didn’t have a whole lot of questions,” he said. “He’s been to Afghanistan and follows pretty closely what the Iowa Guard does. I had a lot of questions. It didn’t seem like a political pitch. I don’t live in his district, so I can’t vote for him.

“He just went above and beyond the call of duty. When he dropped me off, he reminded me he’d given me his card, and he said, ‘I mean it: If you ever need anything or have a problem, call me.’”

Braley said he was the one who was impressed.

“Delays are always a hassle, but spending time with a quality human being like this sergeant was worth it,” he said. “I wish we could clone him.”

And the best part for Braley?

“I got to watch him go through his front door and hug his girlfriend.”