“Probably the biggest battle was to keep those tractors running.”

Kevin Roy Lee

Kevin Lee, 2003 [detail] War: Persian Gulf War, 1990-1995 Branch: Army Unit: 212th Transportation Company, 6th Transportation Battalion Service Location: Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Iraq Rank: Major Place of Birth: Bethesda, MD

Kevin Lee’s budding career as a teacher and wrestling coach was interrupted in November 1990, when his Army reserve unit for called up to serve in the Persian Gulf. While Lee was wrangling trucks and heavy equipment in the desert, his wife, who taught at the same school, took over his coaching duties, becoming the first female wrestling coach in Tennessee. Lee was buoyed by the support of his community when he and his men left for and returned from the Middle East. Even though he would leave the reserves to devote more time to his teaching, he was tempted to join his old unit when they were mobilized in 2003 to serve in Iraq.