Spending a little time at home is a big deal for 19-year-old Eric Banks. He is a National Guard solider with the 30th Brigade. Banks spent the past seven months in Iraq. He is back in Tarboro on a two-week break.
"It's awesome. The first three days, I thought I was dreaming. I was expecting to wake up and be in Iraq," Banks said.
Banks serves as a gunner with a military police battalion. He also spent time taking snapshots in Iraq with a disposable camera. Banks has since bought a digital camera and found a new hobby.
Banks documents just about everything, including a trip to one of Saddam Hussein's palaces. He has close to 1,000 pictures saved on his hard drive.
"This is an experience I want to share with people when I get back home and it's a lot easier to tell your story when you've got visual pictures," he said.
Banks even used his camera to capture video of what its like to sit behind a gun on a Humvee patrol.
"It's really made me grow up, but at the same time, I really appreciate what I'm doing," he said.
Banks admits the time away is taking its toll.
"It's getting old. I'm just ready to come home. I want to go back to school and just start my life," he said.
Banks and a handful of other Guardsman leave for Iraq again Thursday. Banks will celebrate his 20th birthday in Iraq next month.
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