Guardsman to discuss Iraq deployment at GSC

OAKWOOD - A Florida National Guardsman's story of his service in Iraq will be told at Gainesville State College later this month.

John Crawford says he joined the National Guard as a means to a college education. Recently married and two credits shy of a degree, he was called up for active service while on his honeymoon.

Crawford's book - "The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq" - began as a series of essays written while he was still stationed in Baghdad.

The college says his presentation will be delivered "with a sense of humor, a strong stomach and a poignant style, Crawford gives us an inside look at life in the 3rd Battalion of the 124th Infantry. What these stories also gradually uncover is the transformation of a group of young college students into something entirely different."

Crawford will speak at GSC at 12:00 on October 23rd and again October 25th at 12:00 on the school's Oconee campus.