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Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/41637
BACK TO BASIC G reg Russo has been thinking about Sun- day's 10th anniversary of the 9/11 ter- rorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and what it will all mean to him and other veterans. "I've been thinking about it all week," said Russo, a UW walk-on defensive lineman. In 2001, Russo was still an impressionable teenager; a 16-year-old junior at Lake Mills High School. By his own admission, he didn't know how to react to the September 11th attacks. "I was too young to grasp all the people dying; all of the death and destruction," Russo said. "I didn't realize it at the time, but it really made an impact on my life." A few years later, it all began to crystallize for Russo, then a freshman at UW-Whitewater. That's when "wanting to serve" his country took over his thinking. "Seeing a terrorist attack on your home front inspired me a little bit; that was part of the rea- son," said Russo, who acted on his impulse and heart and joined the Wisconsin Army National Guard. "I can't think of anyone in particular who told me, 'Hey, you should serve.' But the Pat Tillman story always comes to mind. I loved that guy. I was a very big fan of his for giving up the glory." In retrospect, he said, "I know for a lot of guys that I served with a big reason for why they served was 9/11. They were in high school when it happened and they were inspired." Russo, now 26, was reliving some of his past experiences after Tuesday's practice. After signing a six-year contract with the National Guard, he was on active duty for four years; including two tours of duty in Iraq. He was deployed in 2005 and 2009 for about 21 months combined. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Russo had trouble putting into words how the military impacted his life. "There's no way I could quantify it," he said. "I was too young to grasp all the people dying; all of the death and destruc- tion," Russo said. "I didn't realize it at the time, but it re- ally made an impact on my life." "It changed my life, ab- solutely. If there was a way to be more than 180 degrees differ- ent then that's what it would be. "It made me confi- dent, strong and able to go out and get what I want. It made me re- assess my life and what was valuable. It made me humble; I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't served." He acknowledged there were stages of decompression when- ever he returned to the states. "Both times, and I'm one of the lucky ones," he said. "Not a lot of people were able to deal with it as well as I have – it has been eight years for some (who have struggled). I've been blessed … "You have to take your time. You have to be