Patch Chats with Spc. James Wise

Patch met up with U.S. Army Spc. James Wise last week about a month after he returned to Needham following a 10-month tour in Iraq. Wise, a lifelong Needham resident and 2007 graduate of Minuteman Career and Technical High School, talked about what it's like to be home, the honor of being named a of Needham's Fourth of July parade and the work he and his unit carried out in Iraq.

What is it like being back? I’m lucky to have the business [he owns Wise Party Rentals in Needham], so I’m able to focus on something. But it’s great being back. I was activated for 14 months, and I was in Iraq for 10 months of that. 

What was your reaction to hearing that you had been named a co-grand marshal of the Fourth of July parade? I was ecstatic. It’s an absolute honor. 

How did you find out? The post leader at the Needham VFW… he gave me a call and he was like, 'Hey, listen, do you want to be the grand marshal of the parade?' I was like, 'Absolutely!'

What does the job of grand marshal involve? [Laughs] I know I’m sitting in the back of the convertible waving and looking good.

What was your favorite part of the Fourth of July parades when you were a kid? When they used to throw candy when I was young. [...] This is like the first time in three, maybe four years that I’ll be around for the parade. I’ve always had military stuff going on.

Did you join the military right after high school? Yes. I joined with my two best friends in high school. They had joined a year ahead of me and I just kind of followed in their footsteps. We all went to Iraq together.

What was it like over there? Hot. [Laughs] It was hot in the summer. For the most part, it was a good experience for me. We came home with everyone we left with, with no serious injuries, so that was good. We did a lot of humanitarian things. The hardest part for me personally was to see some of the Iraqi kids, the conditions they were living in. So whenever I could, I'd help them out, whether it was giving them water or a toy I got in a care package. I had a bunch of youth soccer balls sent over and we were passing out soccer balls to the kids. It was kind of heart-wrenching for me to see the way some of these kids were living. [...] We did a lot of good over there.