Ten Years After 9/11: Two Bullets Changed This Soldier's Life

There’s no way 28-year-old Zach Talraas could have foreseen what would happen two days after he enlisted in the United States Army.

Talraas signed his contract to join the military on Sept. 9, 2001, at the age of 18. Two days later, he sat in his grandparents’ Saylorville home, watching as the two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City.

Did it change his mind about his decision to join? Absolutely not.

“My recruiter called me that day and asked if I was going to back out on him,” said Talraas, now a student at . “I didn’t — if anything, it motivated me more to put myself in a place where I could do something about it.”

Talraas grew up in Des Moines and graduated from Roosevelt High School. He joined the Army as soon as he was done with high school.

“My grandfather was in the Army between Korea and Vietnam, and I knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps and serve,” Talraas said. “As a kid, it was pretty much set in stone what I would end up doing when I got older.”

Talraas’ first and only deployment happened in February 2003 when he and other members of the 82nd Airborne Division, based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., were sent to Iraq.

During a mission where he and other members of his platoon were to protect troops moving by bridge over the Euphrates River, things suddenly became very real during the three-hour long fight.

Talraas was shot twice in the leg by enemy fire. He was one of five injured in the 14-man platoon.

“My first thought was, ‘did I really just get hit?’” Talraas said. “That’s when things became very surreal.”

Talraas was sent stateside for four months before rejoining his platoon until the end of its deployment in February 2004.  He was itching to get back to Iraq, Talraas said.

“I was angry — I pretty much stayed angry the four months I had till I got back,” he said. “I wanted to get back over there pretty bad.”

From what he was told, Talraas was the first Iowan wounded in this war. His story was featured in media outlets such as “60 Minutes” and Time magazine.

While in Iraq, Talraas said he learned a lot about the country’s people and their culture.

"I'm definitely more open-minded now," he said. "Most of the Iraqi people are hardworking and happy we were there."

He also learned much about himself.

“I’m definitely a lot stronger than I realized,” he said. “Also, when you’re put into the right situation, and you put your life in other people’s hands, 90 percent of the time they will rise to the occasion.”

Following his return to the states, Talraas spent time as a member of the Honor Guard at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. He left the Army in 2006.

“There are parts of me that wish I would have stayed in,” Talraas said. “I miss it quite a bit.”

Talraas spent time working as a bartender before switching to construction, working for a Des Moines-area company owned by an ex-combat medic who fought alongside Talraas in Iraq.

Working construction for his friend provided a certain sense of direction for his life, Talraas said. Seventeen days ago, Talraas began his first semester at DMACC. His ultimate goal is to get a degree in construction engineering from Iowa State University.

Talraas is thankful for the opportunities he has and the lessons the last ten years have taught him.

“Life is a precious thing,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what country you’re from, what God you pray to or your color — a bullet will affect everyone the same way.”

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