A Hero's Impact

By Kamryn Vargas

Do you ever wonder why people’s lives are being taken from you? Why parents, relatives, and or friends have been taken away by war? Collier Edwin Barcus was a very important and influential person to me and my family. There is a good side and a bad side to my story.

Collier E. Barcus : Do you ever see that name on the honorary blue sign over by McHenry East High School in McHenry, IL? Collier was born June 14, 1983 in Elgin, Illinois and then moved to McHenry. When the horrible, sad, and dangerous 9/11 was caused by Osama Bin Laden and his al- Qaeda Organization, Collier was at a friends house watching the television of the planes hitting and the Twin Towers going down. That day he had decided to join the Army. Collier went into the Iraq War on March 20, 2003. One night he was sleeping and the other army drove a truck into the army base that our troops were staying in. There was a bomb in the truck. Within that split second there was a loud exploding noise and it blew up the whole place, only one person had survived. On July 8, 2004 Collier and many others had died in Samarra, Iraq. It was the most devastating day of my family’s and my life.

Collier was very close to my family. My step mom, Jessie, was best friends with him and they did everything together. They always went to my grandma and grandpa’s cabin in Michigan and went four wheeling, rafting, fishing, and helped build a roof for their garage. My dad, Steve, was also very good friends with Collier. They always went fishing together, played cards, saw each other almost every day, go camping in the woods, and listen to music in their rooms. Others may say I’m not old enough to remember, I was four years old, but I believe that Collier was the best person in my life. He was so close to me that I called him my uncle and family. My parents told me that Collier loved me very much. He would want to give me candy and popsicles during my nap times. He is my true hero and I love him very much. We all truly miss him.

A couple years after Collier’s death, his mother Sandra (Sandy) Barcus started a not-for-profit organization called Collier House. Collier House takes place in Cody, Wyoming. When Collier was a young teen he had gotten into trouble and started doing drugs and drinking a lot. His mother decided to send him to Mt. Carmel Youth Ranch for Boys, in Cody, Wyoming, for a year. He did homeschooling at the ranch and his time there changed his life and made him a better person. After joining the army, Collier’s dream was to someday return to Wyoming to help with the troubled boys on the ranch. Now Collier House helps Collier’s dreams come true by providing a place for the boys’ families to stay while they visit their sons and also allows families to stay who have lost loved ones in the Iraq War. The purpose of Collier House is to honor the sacrifice of my hero Spc. Collier Edwin Barcus and other families with hero sons and daughters who gave their lives for our freedom from 9/11 and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sandy Barcus said, “Families who pass through Collier House will remember the sacrifice made by my son and the sons and daughters of these families. It is our hope that Collier’s sacrifice will bring Peace to the world, one family at a time. We hope these families will return to their communities and lead whole, happy and productive lives in a place where PEACE… is a way of life.” We have a Facebook page made, Collier House, and a website, www.collierhouse.org to make donations and join the house.

Ever since Collier passed, I have been asking the same questions, “Why did it have to be him? Why did this happen to us?” I always think negative thoughts about this, but I realized that this isn’t such a terrible aspect. Collier himself said that the reason why he had joined the army was to “make a difference.” I still, to this day, cry about him and wish he is still here with me. I used to dream about him and talk to him at night. After he passed, he would come and visit me and lay in bed with me until I fell asleep. We would have real conversations as if he were still alive. People don’t believe me when I say this, but my family knows it was true even though they couldn’t see him like I could. Even though I miss him a lot, I’m very happy because he sacrificed his life to save our country and our family. I know he is still with me now in my heart and he will never leave. I can’t wait to see him again! Thank you so much for everything Collier! We love and miss you very much!