Still wearing a military crew cut but back in civilian clothes, a Lawrence soldier said Friday he couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty about coming home from Iraq.

“There are people who are still gone and you’re not,” said Army National Guard 1st Lt. Scott Jackson, who served with a transportation company that ran convoys and carried ammunition in and around Baghdad. “It’s almost as if you didn’t finish the job.”

Working 18 hours a day, seven days a week in the 778th and 137th Transportation Units, Jackson didn’t see combat or any of his friends killed. He was under strict orders to avoid contact with the Iraqis.

But he saw the effects of the country’s struggle to rebuild nonetheless. Every two or three days, his nightly game of Spades with fellow troops would be interrupted by blackouts over Baghdad.

“At night, the city winks at you,” he said.

Other complaints — two-day waits at the gasoline station and the city’s failure to remove trash — filtered from Iraqi citizens to the public affairs officers to Jackson.

But his base, located in Baghdad’s Green sector, had running water, cots for his sleep at night, a recreation hall and a mess hall for dining. Dining in was always more desirable than the Army-issued to-go meals. Processed and vacuum-sealed, the “squares” were designed to tide troops over until they returned to base from their missions.

When Jackson left base, he left his appetite behind.

“You’re supposed to eat them three times a day, but you couldn’t choke them down that often,” he said.

Army National Guard 1st Lt. Scott Jackson, foreground, is back in Lawrence after a year of active duty in Iraq. Jackson was honored Friday by John Arnold, rear, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, during a reception at the Journal-World, where Jackson is employed.

Jackson was notified to prepare for duty in December 2002. At the time, neither of his two children — son Nick, now 11, and daughter Max, now 9 — had even heard of Iraq or the Middle East. So Nick, who would become the man of the house, did some enterprise research using the Internet and an encyclopedia to learn more. He began watching the news, too, and realized this trip would be no vacation for his dad.

“I told him I didn’t want him to go because I was afraid that he was going to get shot,” Nick recalled.

Jackson left Lawrence on Feb. 14, three days before Nick’s 10th birthday.

Nick, now a fifth-grader at Prairie Park School, spent the year waiting for Jackson to return and doing his school work — something he knew his dad would have made him do if he were home.

Jackson returned Jan. 15. The day he arrived in Lawrence, the family started getting back to normal.

“I was thinking, ‘Wow, I actually get to spend some time with my dad,'” Nick said.

6News video: Soldier returns home More local stories about the war with Iraq

On Feb. 1, Jackson returned to his job as rack and bundle dock superintendent at the Journal-World.

Since his return, friends and family have flooded him with calls and nods of appreciation. During a reception Friday at the Journal-World, he received a certificate of appreciation from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a gift from the newspaper, and accolades from his co-workers.

Dolph C. Simons Jr., chairman of The World Company and editor of the Journal-World, said people like Jackson who had enlisted and volunteered their service in the military spoke for the country’s values.

“You can debate whether we should be there or we shouldn’t be there, but we’re there and we’ve got to come out winning, one way or the other,” Simons said.

Jackson said there was a possibility he could be called for a second tour of duty. He’s heard the Army is looking for volunteers to help train Armenians to provide U.N. relief.

If called, he won’t hesitate.

“If I’m asked,” he said, “I’ll go.”