The Persian Gulf War is more than just a lesson in a modern history book for Staff Sgt. Matthew Corwin.

Ten years ago, the United States launched Desert Storm, a military operation in which more than 500,000 service men and women were sent to defend Kuwait from the Iraqis. Corwin, a business administration major at Penn State, was among the servicemen and women who fought in the Middle East a decade ago this month.

On Jan. 17, 1991, one day after the expiration of a United Nations' deadline for Iraq's withdrawal from Kuwait, the United States launched a heavy air assault on Baghdad with the backing of 33 allies.

Corwin was on a six-month float mission with his battalion's Marine Delta company when troubles in Kuwait reached a fever pitch. The float was assigned to keep a watch on areas in the Pacific, monitoring them in case of a hotspot breakout.

When Corwin, only 21 years old at the time, arrived home, he assumed he would be placed on standby for the war — if he would be sent to combat at all.

"I knew a year later we were scheduled to go on another six-month float," Corwin said of his knowledge of future plans.

Corwin was shipped out again however on Jan. 1, 1991 and was greeted by a Middle Eastern stretch of desert and a downpour of rain that lasted five days.

The weeks and days after Corwin's arrival consisted of intense training that integrated not only aspects of trench warfare, but also on desert combat techniques.

When Corwin was in Kuwait, he spent two days in oil fields, shrouded by thick black clouds that cloaked the area in complete blackness.

"The sun did not shine the whole time we were in the battlefield," Corwin said.

Corwin said he also remembers the throngs of Iraqis that surrendered toward the end of the war.

"I can remember getting supplies, and it was a more relaxed atmosphere. The next thing we see are these columns and droves of men in black uniforms," he said.

"They would shoot over our heads to get our attention, then put up a white flag and surrender," he said.

Corwin said his company gave the group of Iraqis a chemical light in exchange for their weapons and had them continue to walk until they reached other Marines who could provide supplies and food for the malnourished troops.

"Once they came in you felt sorry for them. It was just the look on their face," Corwin said, adding that the Iraqi troops were so malnourished they ate anything they were provided with — including pork, which is against Islamic religious practices.

Corwin and his company not only confronted of huge groups of prisoners of war, but also had to remain constantly alert to the possibility of land mines, which were planted throughout the desert.

One close call came when a supply crate that was thrown over a wall that surrounded the international airport in Kuwait nearly detonated a land mine.

Corwin and his fellow marines left Kuwait April 1, 1991. The bombing continued for six more weeks after Corwin's departure and finally, following a four-day ground campaign, Iraq was pushed to surrender.

Although the United States suffered its share of casualties — 293 killed and 467 wounded in action — Corwin said the war's clear objective and precise technology assisted troops in getting the job done and getting it done quickly.

"It was fast, it was quick," he said. "I think that's the way a war should be run."