Matthew Gossard was born in Marion, Ohio. He was raised here and graduated from Elgin High School, Class of 2001. While in high school, Matt participated in football, basketball, cross country, baseball and track. Matt says he was a very competitive young man, he wanted not only to be good at the things he did, but he wanted to succeed and win.

Matt says that he was asked by a friend to come to the local recruiter’s office. Matt’s friend said that Matt only had to come in and speak with the recruiter, he would not be required to fill out any paperwork or sign anything, in order for his friend to gain the day off. He said he only went to help his friend get an extra day off work. Matt said he did listen to the army recruiter and was impressed with what he had to say. Matt states that he was taking some classes at Marion tech and working, but he did not have any definite career path or school plans. After hearing the recruiter, Matt decided to join the United States Army. Matt said it was out of a sense of adventure as well as a patriotic duty.

Matt entered service and attended basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He started basic training the day President George W. Bush declared war on Iraq. War was declared on 3 March 2003. After basic training he attended the basic infantry course and jump school. Matt would be classified as an 11B-1P.
Matt was deployed in August 2003. He was serving with the 3rd/505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division “All American Division.” He was assigned to A Company, 1st Platoon. He held the call sign of Red 2 Bravo.

Deployed to Iraq
Private First Class (PFC) Gossard served at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Saint Michael. This was in the city of Mahmudiyah and is located 25 kilometers south of Baghdad. FOB Saint Michael was located on the site of an old chicken factory, giving it the nickname “Chicken Factory.” As this was early in the war, Gossard and his platoon mates had to build up the FOB from scratch. They did not have phones or computers set up for contacting family in these early stages. They had to write old fashioned letters with pen and paper and mail them home to communicate with family. Gossard remembers that even in these early stages of the war, the humvees did not even have armored plating. They soldier would have to scrounge around and find wood to use to improve the blast protection from roadside bombs. He said that family members even sent kevlar clothe through the mail, so they could improve on their protection. The army did eventually get up to speed on the war, but the early days were very spartan.

“Ace of Spades” Captured
Gossard remembers when the “Ace of Spades” (Saddam Hussein) was captured. Gossard was part of Task Force All American working in conjunction with Operation Red Dawn. Operation Red Dawn was the operation involving the search and capture of Saddam Hussein.

On the night of Dec. 12th, 2003, my platoon was sent out to a city called Latafiyah, to assist in the capture of Saddam Hussein. We were unable to locate him, due to him being tipped off that we were coming. We went back to FOB St. Michael and got a few hours of sleep. When I woke up early that next morning of the 13th, I was escorting an Iraqi contractor that was pouring concrete on the base. While I was with this man he received a phone call and looked up at me and just started shouting, “Saddam! Saddam!” while making a gesture with his hands like he was in handcuffs. I realized he was telling me that Saddam had been captured early that morning. So that is how I found out that Saddam Hussein had been captured, from an Iraqi contractor.

Gossard Recalling When He Heard Saddam Was Captured

During down time, Gossard said they pretty much did “as boys will do” for entertainment. He said they would through knives, wrestle and goof off. But mostly in the down time they tried to get caught up on sleep, as there was not much time allotted for sleep. Most time was spent improving the FOB, guard duty and patrolling.

Post deployment training at Fort Bragg
Once back at Fort Bragg, the battalion resumed training. During a battalion airborne exercise. Gossard, now a Specialist (SPC), would begin a series of experiences that would forever change his life. As he was ready for an airborne jump exercise from a C-17. SPC Gossard experienced series of events that would include his parachute not deploying, his reserve failing to open properly and an entanglement. He landed mostly on his head and upper back while still loaded with his full gear. His parachute lines had him so tightly entangled, that he was unable to release his equipment during his plummet to earth. Gossard tells of the events from waiting as jumper #13, until his impact on the ground, where he briefly lost consciousness, when he tells his story.

Gossard’s injuries would leave him in such pain that he was unable to perform his duties. He says he felt the Army saw him as a failure and instead of trying to repair and restore him, they pushed pain medications to him. Matt was suffering from a traumatic brain injury, multiple herniations to the discs in his back and all on top of trauma from his Iraq deployment. He later realized he had become addicted to pain medications. He was subsequently medically released from the military. Gossard battled not only the physical pain, but the mental pain of not being able to perform tasks that he had previously succeeded in and the addiction and post traumatic response he was experiencing.

Restoration
After going into a treatment center in Tennessee, Gossard began to hear from God and was able to respond to God’s offer of restoration. Gossard reestablished the relationship that God offered him and began serving Jesus Christ. Gossard now shares his experience that lead him into this wonderful relationship and encourages others to hear and obey God’s call for reconciliation.

I recommend that all seek out and hear the incredible story that Matt has to share. You can go to the following website to see where Matt is speaking next. https://marionnaz.org/leadership
If you are a veteran who is dealing with addiction, depression or PTSD you may contact Matt or the Veterans Crisis Line.

Gossard returned to Marion after his treatments and is living here with his wife and three children.
Matt Gossard is the Director of Discipleship at the Marion Nazarene Church, at the time of this posting. He still serves his community through his church and is an encouragement to veterans transitioning back into civilian life and all those struggling with addictions.

Some of the organizations that have helped Gossard over the years:

1. Our Master’s Camp – Addiction Treatment Facility in Pikeville, TN.
2. The Resurrecting Lives Foundation – Non profit here in Ohio that assists Veteran’s struggling with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries.
3. New Directions – Veteran’s Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Los Angeles, CA.
4. The Refuge – Addiction Treatment Facility in Columbus, OH.

Other Helpful Sites:

Veterans Crisis Line

Marion Nazarene Church (MarionNaz)

Celebrate Recovery at MarionNaz on Thursdays at 7:00pm