There’s no denying that Luke Burgan was born with military blood running through his veins.
By the time he came of age to enlist in 2010, the then 19-year-old Burgan was following in the footsteps of his grandfather, father and older brother.
“I knew my whole life I’d probably be in the Army,” he said.
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He knew before he signed up that he’d be in the infantry with boots on the ground like his father, Clarence “Sonny” Burgan, who served three tours in the infantry during the Vietnam War. Burgan, now 25, joined the Army in January 2010, less than a year after he graduated from high school. He took some time for himself in between, knowing what was ahead.
“I knew that there were two wars going on at the time, and I knew I’d be going to one or both of them,” he said.
He shipped out to Afghanistan in December 2011, serving in the 4th Airborne Combat Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.
When asked what the war was like, Burgan takes a long pause before answering.
“Exactly what I expected,” he said. “But I went in with the right mentality. I think I was bred for that, almost.”
He suffered four concussions during his service, three during combat operations, of which he participated in almost 250 during his 11 months in the war.
“I don’t care too much to mention the other stuff, but I want people to know that our soldiers do a lot of good work over there,” he said.
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He speaks proudly of his experience in the Paktia Province of Afghanistan, where Burgan’s unit provided humanitarian aid and helped to increase stability in the area, even helping the community to reopen a local school.
“We didn’t have control of why we were over there, but the things we could control, we made a difference,” he said.
Burgan returned stateside in October 2012 and worked on a base in Alaska for the remaining year and half of his service.
“My original motivation to get out was to be with my dad and we were planning on moving him up to Montana,” he said of his father, who was ill. “It was the same day that I was signing out of the Army that he died.”
Burgan returned to Tucson instead and joined the National Guard, with no break in his service.
“It was something I’m really familiar with and it helped to ease the transition back,” he said. “I had some difficulty when I was first separating and experienced some mild anxiety.”
But now he’s settled back in, has been taking college courses under the G.I. Bill and is helping his mother with her business, a nonprofit that provides GED training for adults.
There’s a picture of Burgan with his father on a shelf in his living room, displayed next to his funeral flag and Burgan’s combat helmet.
“There’s more than just me in this family, and that’s where my motivation my entire life has come from,” he said.
