James Nappier’s persistence and devotion to serving his country resulted in the improbable scenario of a man in his 40s with a grown child enlisting in—and being accepted by—the Navy’s Seabees. By virtue of his six years in the Marines beginning when he had dropped out of high school, Nappier’s real age was knocked down to just under the upper limit for eligibility. This was in 2000, when no one had any idea of military deployments to a war in the Middle East. In Iraq, Nappier kept volunteering for the most dangerous missions, figuring he was saving one younger man with young children from harm’s way. Though still a firm believer in the military and the mission, Nappier does express serious misgivings about the armored protection and amount of ammunition he and his men were given, as well as leadership during an engagement which resulted in two fatalities in his unit.

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