War Vet Remembers Life-Changing Battle with al-Qaida: Archives

Growing up on Hungry Hill in Chicago Heights in the '90s, Jesus “Gabriel” Cadena saw frequent gang battles in his neighborhood. And he watched a teen cousin die in a freak accident. But nothing prepared him for what he'd experience in the streets of Iraq.

The day a bullet jammed in a terrorist gun aimed at his head is one he will never forget.

But that isn't where Cadena's story begins.

“I joined the military in 2002," Cadena said. "I watched TV when the towers came down, I thought to myself, 'I needed to do something.' I felt I needed to join the Army and do something for my country, so I joined the military after 9/11.”

Cadena born and raised in Chicago Heights, joined the Army in 2002 and got out May 5, 2010. Cadena served three tours in Iraq, facing months of hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. 

“I served in the military for eight years," Cadena said. "It was a wild ride. I’ve seen things a lot of people have never seen. I went from knowing nothing to becoming a man, real quick. I have a different take on life.”

First Tour

Within a year after first donning his uniform, Cadena was on his way out of the United States.

“Shortly after I joined the Army the drill sergeant told me I was going to Iraq," Cadena explained. "They said (Osama) bin Laden attacked the towers. He was part of 9/11. Iraq was a totally different place. I found out shortly after that we were fighting the War on Terror. Within nine months of joining the military, I was shipped off to Iraq"

Cadena would eventually learn about the rapidly evolving nature of war, and how circumstances can change the meaning of time.

"I was told it was going to be a year," Cadena said. "But a year turned into 16 months. I stayed longer because I went with the equipment, and I stayed to bring the equipment back."

But the soldier's first trip was only an introduction.

"The initial tour was the invasion of Iraq," Cadena explained. "After the invasion, the government was overthrown. Then we had to stabilize and take care of the Iraqi people."

Second Tour

Cadena had little time to gather his thoughts before he was on his way back to Iraq.

“As soon as I got home, I got orders for a second deployment," he said. "The second time was harder than the first because we knew who we were fighting against (the first time). The second tour, the insurgency, the roadside bombs, you really didn’t know where the enemy was coming from. You always had to be alert."

Besides the new, difficult to define enemy, Cadena was also had a new role amongst his peers, a leadership role.

"In the first deployment, I went from a private to a specialist," he explained. "In my second deployment, I became a non-commissioned officer, a sergeant. I was an EF sergeant, which meant I had four to five soldiers under me."

Ramadi, Iraq

In 2006, the second tour in Iraq landed Cadena in Ramadi, an area nicknamed "The Wild, Wild West."

"It was pretty bad, a lot of terrorists." Cadena remembered. "You’ll see terrorists walking the streets. They own towns and little villages.  They kept the United States military out."

Cadena's trip to Ramadi was life-changing. Here is his account of what happened there.

"When we came to Ramadi, I was part of the Armor Division 26 Infantry.  We came in to assist the Marine Corps, to help secure some of the towns. We were battling from the streets and set up outposts. I was a team leader at the time with five soldiers under me.

"We got dismounted in town and walked down streets like you would see in Chicago Heights. We walked down the middle of streets, five in a row on each side.

"It was my job as a point man to figure out which homes to hit. That meant we go in and kick the doors in. One of the houses that I picked had enemy inside of it, waiting to ambush us.

"I was the first one in the house, it was like any other house.  I found inside five insurgents ready to kill us. We got the surprise on them because once we got inside they were getting their weapons ready, getting their machine guns in position.

"When I kicked down the door, one of the insurgents put a gun to my head. He pulled the trigger, I heard it clicking, but it didn’t go off. I hit his gun, then shot him in the chest. I turned to shoot another one, when he ran into the kitchen.

"At the time, I’m the only one in the house because one of the guys who was right behind me, was barely a week in Iraq. He heard the gunfire and ran back out. I was the only one left in this house.

"I turned my weapon into three round bursts, sprayed the house and walked out. As soon as I walked out, the insurgents threw a grenade toward us. I yelled to my guys 'Grenade!' They hit the ground.

"I then told one of my experienced soldiers to throw a grenade in the house. He threw the grenade. It went off.  We then entered the house. When we got in there, we found a uniform they had from one of our soldiers that was in our platoon they had killed a couple weeks before. They turned out to be al-Qaida. They were operating in the area for a while."

Cadena's encounter with members of Osama bin Laden's terrorist group was just one in a series of attacks that claimed several of his company's men.

"We were losing an average of a soldier a week in a company of about 150," Cadena recalled, becoming angry. "They took other equipment from our soldiers we had lost, like night-vision goggles. They took things for mementos. Those sick bastards!"

Upon his return from the second tour, Cadena was awarded for his efforts, and kept a memento of his own, from that fateful day in Ramadi.

"The Bronze Star was given to me for killing an insurgent and for saving my buddies' lives," the veteran explained, remembering the moment he almost died. "I was mad when he tried to kill me. I tried to keep the gun, but they wouldn’t let me, so I kept the round that didn’t go off.  I don’t know what to do with it. The round sits on my dresser. It reminds me of what could have happened but didn’t."

While he appreciated recognition, Cadena is still haunted by his second tour, and the comrades he lost. "It was unexpected. You go out and do your job. I wasn’t looking to get any awards. We lost a lot of soldiers. Soldiers I trained with. I knew them, I ate chow with them, I trained alongside with them. I knew them."

Third Tour

For Cadena, tour No. 3 came with another promotion and more men to look after.

“I was staff sergeant," he said. "I had a squad under me. I had to plan and prepare nine soldiers for mission. I had to be accountable for them. It’s like having nine kids."

Cadena took the group of soldiers under his wing, training them and arming them with a wealth of knowledge he had gained from past experience. Still, there was no way to prepare for everything.

"To be responsible for nine soldiers, you go on a mission with the plan of bringing them all back," Cadena said. "Some of them didn’t make it. I had two soldiers that didn’t make it. It’s a hard thing to live with. I know I trained them the best I could. Sometimes it’s overwhelming."

Now, after the death of Osama bin Laden, a monumental victory for the United States, Cadena said celebrating a mission accomplished doesn't come easy.

"The first deployment, we lost soldiers. The second deployment, we lost more," he said. "They said we accomplished the mission we were out there to do. And sometimes you don’t see it, like with the death of Osama Bin Laden. It’s the same with Saddam Hussein."

The veteran said he is not sure what the al-Qaida founder's death will bring.

"You see them die," Cadena said. "You see them captured. It usually gets worse afterwards. I hope it gets better. I want to see the soldiers come back after 10-odd years of hard work. It is time for the soldiers to come home."

Home Again

Cadena is happy he's back home in Chicago Heights.

"After being gone so long, this past year has been all family time," he said. "I’m going to school. I’m a stay-at-home dad with two kids."

Being home brings a soft spot to the war-hardened soldier.

"My daughter, she is 9," Cadena said. "I didn’t see her growing up because I was in the military.

I’m home now. ... I made it.”