Lai Junyu, Wang Yuanyuan

    cheekywang@hotmail.com

    HAVING served in the U.S. Army for six years, including 13 months in Iraq, John David Hedges retired from the military after he was shot in the left knee. He was able to avoid amputation of the leg with more than a year of hard rehabilitation and training. He said Shenzhen’s warm climate helps him avoid the pain he experiences in the knee during cold winters elsewhere.

    Army opportunity

    Hedges said he enlisted in the U.S. Army when he was 21.

    “I was born in a town with so few opportunities, so I joined the army. It was a really good job with a great salary,” he said.

    In the United States, soldiers earn around US$20,000 in their first year of service, with pay increases the longer they stay.

    Hedges said his perceptions about military service evolved rapidly.

    “When I got to Iraq, I was young. I really had no idea what I was going into. I was scared out of my mind for the first three months,” he said. “But after a while, it’s just like a normal job; something you have to do every day.”

    He said the firefight that caused his injury happened very suddenly.

    “I was mentally unprepared to get into a fight when I saw two 7-year-old children, (similar to) my sons, explode in front of me while they were playing football on the side of the road. Hundreds of Iraq soldiers from everywhere came out. There was a huge firefight. I could see the bone after I got shot in the knee, and it felt like it was on fire. I tried to climb a set of stairs, but then I lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes I was in the hospital two days later, staring at the ceiling,” Hedges said.

    ‘Them or you’

    Hedges was trained as a mechanic in the army and said his job was to fix military vehicles whenever it was needed. In Iraq, he said, he also had to work in groups and search civilian homes for weapons one by one, arresting suspects as they went.

    “You never knew what was behind the other side of the door,” Hedges said. “You might see children playing or a mother cooking, but sometimes when you blasted in there were over 20 people with AK-47s.”

    He said military life was extraordinarily stressful.

    “There were a lot of threats,” Hedges said. “The people that were fighting were dressed like average people. Even a 13-year-old child on the side of the street could be aiming a gun at you.”

    He said soldiers had to shoot anyone who tried to kill them in order to stay alive themselves.

    “In Iraq, people would do anything to kill an American, so I did not feel sad if I had to kill them. It’s them or you,” Hedges said.

    He gave a simple answer to a question about what makes someone a hero.

    “Being a hero is doing a job to protect average people, so I think everyone is a hero in the army,” he said. “I wasn’t happy and disagreed with the reason that we were fighting the war. I can say I was proud of being in the army, but I can’t say I am proud of the reason we were fighting.”

    Civilian life

    After retiring from the army, Hedges got an English degree at Central Western University, paid for by the U.S. government. Hedges said being an English teacher has allowed him to travel around the world and work while meeting new people and learning about different cultures.

    “I’m an open-minded person and I’m interested in different cultures,” Hedges said.

    Though the government offers job programs for military veterans, Hedges began traveling after receiving his degree, instead. He lived in the Philippines for a year.

    “I went there because I wanted to take a break and to explore Asian culture,” Hedges explained. “And I wanted to be an English teacher traveling around the world.”

    Two years ago, Hedges was invited to visit Shenzhen by a friend he had met online.

    “We met on a car interest website, and we became great friends,” he said.

    He built up a great relationship with his friend’s family in Shenzhen, and was asked by his friend’s mother to stay. He’s lived in the city ever since.

    Hedges said China is a good place to have a family because of the country’s ban on guns.

    “I think it is really good for China not to have guns,” he said. “Everywhere in America is dangerous. Last week, I saw news online about two guys who shot each other over shoes, which is crazy.”

    Staying strong

    Hedges said he thinks Chinese people are more health-conscious than Americans.

    “You can see 70-year-old Chinese people practicing tai chi in parks in the morning, while most 70-year-old Americans would only sit on the couch and watch TV,” he said.

    Having been to several Chinese cities, Hedges said Shenzhen remains his favorite. He said Shenzhen is similar to America in that both places are home to many different people from multiple cultures. In addition to the warm weather being comfortable for his left knee, he said the local job opportunities make him want to stay in Shenzhen.

    Hedges is a teacher at an international kindergarten in Bao’an District, and said he enjoys his life teaching and playing with children. He also works as a fitness instructor in the evenings.

    “Doing something that you like and also get paid for is so great,” he said.

    He said he frequently sends some of the money he earns in Shenzhen to his two sons in America, who are 6 and 7 years old.

    Hedges spends most of his spare time in the gym and said he has met a lot of good friends that way.

    “I don’t drink and I don’t go to bars,” he said. “When I was 20 years old, I began weight training, and after the training experience in the army, I became more interested in the science behind health and the body.”

    He said he feels grateful that healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables are “10 times cheaper here than those in America.”

    Hedges goes back to the United States once a year. He said his plan for the future is to marry again and settle down here, perhaps with a Chinese woman. He was divorced from his first wife in America several years ago. Hedges said his older son has expressed a desire to live in Shenzhen with his father.

    I can say I was proud of being in the army, but I can’t say I am proud of the reason we were fighting [the war in Iraq].”— John David Hedges, who served in the U.S. Army for six years, including 13 months in Iraq, and is a teacher at an international kindergarten in Bao’an District