KU News Release

Graduation stories: KU student’s education put on hold to serve in Iraq

Neil Melton

LAWRENCE — For 13 years, school was absolutely routine for Neil Melton. But when he was a sophomore at the University of Kansas, his life took a different turn.

In January 2003, Melton, a Leavenworth native and son of Stephen and Sallie Melton, was notified that he and his Army Reserves Unit were headed for Iraq. Melton had to drop out of his classes at KU and go to Fort Riley for training.

“I had been going to school from the time I was in kindergarten and all the way through,” Melton said. “To then just take a year and a half off of school and to be thinking about a totally different mindset and to then come back to that, it was a little bit difficult. It took an adjustment.”

His unit was deployed in April 2003. Melton spent his time overseas between Iraq and Kuwait. He helped transport equipment around Iraq, including in Baghdad, Tikrit and Fallujah. Melton hauled tanks and large engineering equipment that were essential to the war effort.

He was fortunate to have in his unit high school friend Aaron Simmons, who enlisted in the reserves with Melton when the two were seniors in high school.

“We went though advanced training together, advanced individual training together and we have been in the unit the whole time,” Melton said.

Melton also spent time with his younger brother Joe, who was deployed to Kuwait during the end of his stay in the Middle East.

When Melton returned to the United States in May 2004, he had to learn how to get back into the routine he had been so familiar with before his war-time experience. He’ll graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies this month.

After spending more than a year in Kuwait and Iraq, Melton realized how lucky he was to live in the United States.

“It made a lot of things here seem not that difficult,” Melton said. “It made me realize that we do take a lot of things for granted. Living in that type of environment, there are a few luxuries and a few ways to entertain yourself but it is not nearly the type of freedom that we have here.”

After graduation, Melton plans to start his own online marketing business. His contract with the Army Reserves ended in April.

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