Exclusive interview with Mike Wagner

Aurea first offers her support to the troops. She and Mike Wagner discuss Silent Freedom, her 4 part memoir of service with the 101st Airborne Division Air Assault. Her division was deployed to Iraq as a result of the 9/11 attack, she recalls the feeling of seeing the Pentagon on fire and the second tower being hit.

Aurea’s book offers the perspective of a soldier who is also a mother, and the emotional difficulty of being separated from her son while she was deployed. Her strength, and the need to stay focused helped her to work through the deep loss she felt from being away from her growing son.

Aurea received 2 Bronze Meritorious Service Medals and expressed the dangers of serving in Iraq. She details an experience with a fellow soldier who was killed while taking a break; and a harrowing experience of being surrounded by 24 wild dogs then being rescued by a fellow soldier on a gator. She also wrote formal policies to aid soldiers with leave policies.

Aurea is a lifetime member of the Federal Asian Pacific American Council.