Voting is in Zach Fuentes’ blood.

The Oak Harbor resident will turn 27 on election day. He’s fully aware that it may be the most important election of his life.

During the last presidential election, Fuentes filled out his ballot while his base was under mortar fire in Iraq. Wearing a helmet and flack jacket, Fuentes was huddled in an office building for hours during the “Alarm Red.”

“I figured I had nothing else to do, so I got out my ballot,” he said.

This experience, together with his involvement in the war itself, led Fuentes to become a champion for voter registration and informed voting when he returned home to Oak Harbor. As an event planner at the Whidbey campus of Skagit Valley College, he’s coordinated a successful forum with legislators and a voter registration drive.

“I just think the time we’re living in is so historic,” he said. “People are worried. But if you are going to complain about something, you should be part of the solution.”

Iraq was a positive experience for Fuentes. He joined the Air National Guard in 2000 in order to find direction in his life and earn money for college. He was sent to Iraq for a six-month tour in 2003. He volunteered to return in 2004.

Fuentes’ job in the war was to install communication systems from the ground up. He spent time at a number of bases, but came under mortar fire at Camp Anaconda.

The closest Fuentes has ever been to a mortar was when one struck while he was on his way to the chow hall.

“It’s the nearest I’ve even been and the loudest thing I’ve ever heard,” he said. “It was pretty scary.”

Fuentes was rarely able to leave the base, but he said he worked “hand-in-hand” with local people who came onto the base. He said he was gratified by the attitude of both the Iraqis and Americans.

“Everyone thought they were doing something with a purpose,” he said.

On the occasions that he did leave the base, Fuentes was delighted to see what’s left of the landscape and ruins of ancient Mesopotamia. He was especially impressed by a Babylonian zigurrat, a sort of pyramid temple.

“I’ve visited places I read about in the Bible,” he said. “My goal is to see the Seven Wonders of the World. I’ve seen one.”

Fuentes is proud that he played a part in the “fight for freedom” in Iraq. While the fighting continues in the Middle East, Fuentes hopes people, especially young folks, will practice the freedom that others fought for.

Just vote.