Editor's Note: This is the first in a five-part series detailing the lives of Iraq War veterans.

Kevin Geisel's Thanksgiving Day was far from the family event it usually is.

While many students remember sitting around a dinner table, Geisel recalls patrolling outside of Fallujah, Iraq. While some dug into plates of turkey and stuffing, Geisel faced an ear-splitting car bomb that exploded a couple of feet in front of him. As he struggled to get up after being tossed to the ground, bullets and mortar shells flew overhead. That Thanksgiving Day, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

Geisel is a 23-year-old Penn State freshman -- and an Iraq War veteran. He served with the United States Marine Corps for four years, ending his military service last October. Today marks the sixth year since former President George W. Bush gave his ultimatum to Saddam Hussein and sent military forces into the country.

With Hussein now dead and a new administration in office, Geisel, among others, feels it is time to end the war.

"The question shouldn't be if we need or should pull out," he said. "It should be how long it will take to pull out. Many people may not support the cause and feel one way or another about the war, but you should support the troops -- especially when they have been working hard to make sure they have been doing what's right."

From student to soldier

Although he decided to join the Marines when he was in high school, Geisel did not take his decision lightly. He had his reasons. He knew the cost of attending college -- military service would help pay for it. He had one friend who joined the military and his best friend was considering it -- enlisting would help him be with them.

Finally, he looked at his own experience. Growing up 40 minutes from New York City, he lived the impact of the events of Sept. 11, 2001 -- joining the military would help fight those who did it, he thought.

Geisel took all this, walked right up to a Marine recruiter and signed his name on the dotted line six years ago. His parents were livid at first, but eventually understood.

October 2002: One month past the first anniversary of Sept. 11 and the beginning of Geisel's boot camp training.

He quickly had to learn how to keep up with his new standard of living. Combat, rifle and physical training were daily activities. Contact with his family was limited to letters. Everyday procedures were drilled into his head.

"Everything felt like it was timed," Geisel said. "Things like brushing your teeth were broken down by steps. Pick up your brush. Brush your teeth. Put your brush down. It was hard to get used to at first, but it made you faster."

After 13 weeks in boot camp and two months at the Marine Corps School of Infantry, Geisel emerged as a Marine ground soldier. Fully trained, he had no idea where he would be going next. But that didn't worry him. He was ready.

"You'd be crazy to say you weren't scared"

His first deployment was to the border of Iraq and Kuwait, a "calm" area. His unit then moved to Saudi Arabia, Djibouti and Jordan.

He had a break, trained more, then headed to his second deployment in Fallujah. It was in this small city where he really began to feel the effects of war.

"Everything happened," Geisel said. "Every morning you had to remember that if you went out there, you might not come back."

With his life on the line every day, the amenities of daily living were soon forgotten. Q-tips were a luxury item. He never knew when he'd get his next shower. Bathrooms were porta-potties, which were often "1,000 degrees inside." He slept in abandoned schools and buildings and even outside in the high grass. He forgot a woman's scent.

Geisel had one goal in Fallujah: to make it out alive.

"You'd be crazy to say you weren't scared," he said. "I didn't know what to expect. You think you know because you have prepared for so long and heard stories, but you don't ever really know."

He got his wish -- the soldier made it home. But it was only for a short time. He was deployed a third time. With no time to complain, he went back to Iraq.

This time, he was stationed in Ramadi. To his relief, it was much calmer than Fallujah. During this deployment, Geisel was made squad leader, a role that charged him with directing missions and made him responsible for the lives of his unit.

"I was running around getting briefed on things while my unit was sleeping," he said. "It was a lot more logistics. I was in charge of 11 guys and driving my commanding officer around. It was difficult, but in a different way."

His third deployment ended smoothly -- as did his four-year contract with the Marines. His next task: readjusting to civilian life.

New soldier on campus

Geisel slowly began transitioning to what used to be his regular routine. He describes this period in his life as one thing: strange. He is more mature. He has seen things he rarely wants to speak of again. But most importantly, he made it.

"I celebrated for almost two months," he said. "I went out with my friends and family. My parents were so happy."

Geisel stuck to his plan and enrolled at Penn State. It's his first semester, and he loves the university. Geisel's unsure of his exact plan for the future, but he thinks it may intersect with anti-terrorism and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Fighting changed Geisel's outlook about the war. When he began his military career after high school, he never imagined he would be so sympathetic for Iraqi residents. He cared about what they were "caught up in." He knew it was the right decision to go to war, he said, but he felt it even more when he was in an unstable Fallujah.

But now on the sixth anniversary of the war, Geisel thinks it is time to consider withdrawing troops gradually. In his last deployment, he remembered being able to walk the streets weaponless. Some of his friends, who are still there, told him there isn't much to do. He feels now is the time to move out.

That said, Geisel is cautious about moving too quickly.

"If we pull out all of the sudden, it may cause things to get a little chaotic," Geisel said. "I don't think it will, but it might."

Looking back, Giesel has no regrets. Even though he questioned himself a "little" while fighting, he said he was proud to be in the military and proud to be a Marine.

"I have a great love for the Marine Corps," Geisel said. "How could I not when they gave me this? They give me the opportunity to go to college and be here at Penn State. What's better than that?"