Brad Washabaugh was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 15, 1954.  The son of a Marine, Brad too chose to enlist, giving himself a goal in the wake of a serious motorcycle accident.  He became an officer, commanding a platoon and then a company, and visiting crisis spots around the world.  Brad learned the cost early on, losing Marines and friends in an accident in the Philippines and in the 1983 terrorist attack in Beirut.  With those events in his memory, Brad found himself and his Marines at the vanguard of what would become Operation Desert Storm, in the wake of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.  It was their task to clear the minefields  as part of the execution of the “left hook” maneuver, making way for the armoured division, all of which would clear the way for a massive coalition victory.  Brad survived the desert, the Iraqi defenses, friendly fire, and the smoke from the burning oil fields on the path to victory, making him one of that generation of soldiers who helped ground the United States as a new decade began.  We met Brad Washabaugh through the Veterans’ Breakfast Club, and we are grateful for that introduction, and for the time Brad spent zooming with Mr. Masters’ Politics 12 class in early 2021.