After tough job of leading Abu Ghraib prison, Elgin veteran now finds other ways to serve

Veteran Craig Essick of Elgin says serving as commander of detention operations for Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison - one of the most infamous prisons in recent U.S. history - probably was the toughest year of his life.

These days, the 62-year-old enjoys serving on the honor guard for American Legion Post 57 in Elgin, which he led as commander for two years until August. Like all veterans organizations, the Elgin post has struggled to attract younger members, but it remains one of the largest in Illinois with nearly 600 veterans, Essick said. The post is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

"Being a veteran and seeing firsthand some of the problems that people have when they come back from the wars, it made me feel really good that I am doing my part to help my fellow veterans," he said.

Essick, who has a wife, two daughters and three grandchildren, has lived in Elgin for 35 years. He is a trustee for Hanover Township and a retired Streamwood police sergeant. He was in the U.S. Army for 32 years, including 11 in active duty, and retired in 2011 with the rank of colonel.

He was assigned to Abu Ghraib prison in February 2004, just after the scandal over the torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners - done under the previous command - came under the national and international media spotlight. Overseeing a prison in a war zone, where security means not just monitoring prisoners inside but also looking out for attacks from the outside, is a big challenge, and the abuse scandal amplified it, Essick said.

"It was very stressful. It was a tough time," he said. "But we did what we were supposed to do. I'm pretty proud of what we did."

His volunteer work with the American Legion chapter in Elgin is much less stressful, of course. Still, being part of the honor guard is a solemn duty that he and the others take very seriously, he said.

"We actually have training. We practice," said Essick, also a member of Bartlett VFW Post 11018. "We don't want to go out there and not look good."

The honor guard takes part in about 40 events per year, including ceremonies for Fourth of July, Sept. 11, Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

The latter is held at Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin and always is particularly touching, he said. "They all have meaning, but that's usually one of our really strong events."

Mostly, the honor guard is requested at veterans' funerals, Essick said.

"Whenever a veteran dies in the Elgin area, and even outside the Elgin area, all the funeral homes know that they can call the American Legion and that we can be part of the firing squad and the honor guard," he said.

"It's very emotional. We definitely deal with the families when we are there."

When Essick was interviewed via email by the Daily Herald in 2004, he said he believed "Iraq will be a much better place than before the war."

How does he feel about that now?

"I've got to believe it's still a little better now than it was before the war," he said. "I think it's a situation where the country has been having problems with the Sunni and Shiite (two sects of Islam) for many, many years, and I don't think we were able to go and solve that problem."