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Minnesota National Guard Sgt. John Kriesel speaks at St. Olaf

By Anna Stevens '10
October 11, 2007

Sergeant John Kriesel of the Minnesota National Guard spoke about his experiences as a citizen soldier in Kosovo and Iraq with the St. Olaf Community on Oct. 17, as part of the "Liberal Arts in Times of War" theme for the current semester.

Kriesel lost both of his legs during a routine patrol near Fallujah, Iraq, last December. His injuries resulted in 25 surgeries over the course of just two months.

Kriesel, 25, impatiently joined the Minnesota National Guard the day after his 17th birthday. Before his deployment to Iraq, Kriesel served a tour in Kosovo. He did not have to go overseas again, yet chose to go to Iraq when the rest of his unit was deployed there.

Two good friends from Kriesel's unit lost their lives to the same explosion that took his legs. "That's the worst part," he said in an interview with KARE 11 News. "I really couldn't care about my legs. These prosthetics they have nowadays, I'm gonna be fine. But there's no replacing those two guys."

Kriesel's family and community have joined together to help welcome him home, and are working to provide him with a handicap accessible home and offer continuing support to his wife, Katie, and their two sons, Elijah, 5, and Broden, 4.

"We all knew what could happen. We volunteered. And I support the cause," Kriesel told KARE 11. "I have no regrets. The only two regrets are that two of my buddies in the vehicle died."

Academic theme
Kriesel's address is part of a semester-long academic theme, "Liberal Arts in Times of War." Part of the college's two-year academic focus on "Global Citizenship," the theme's purpose is to encourage college-wide reflection on the contributions of liberal arts to understanding war, terrorism and the war against it, morality in war, and competing traditions in the analysis of war.

Future speakers include James T. Johnson, professor of religion at Rutgers University (Oct. 23), former Iraqi general George Sada (Oct. 30) and Sohail Hashmi, associate professor of international relations at Mount Holyoke College (Nov. 1).

Contact Edmund Santurri at 507-786-3084 or santurri@stolaf.edu.