Visit home restores Marines serving in Iraq

[thedrifter]

Visit home restores Marines serving in Iraq
A Clive and Waukee man were able to come home as part of a recruiting program.
By MEGAN HAWKINS
Register Staff Writer
08/15/2003


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They've seen the black roses that wind up the gates to Saddam Hussein's palace in Baghdad. They've felt sand swirling in the air and heard the explosions and gunfire in Iraq. They're only 18 and 19 years old, and you may have run into them this week while walking around town. They're back - but only for a visit.

Lance Cpl. Christopher Rodriguez of Clive and Lance Cpl. Zack Truex of Waukee, both Marines, recently returned from the Middle East and, under a recruiting program, were able to spend time with their families in Iowa. Rodriguez, with the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, was home for a week and returned Tuesday to Camp Pendleton in California, where he is based. Truex, part of the 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division, will be in town a bit longer before returning to Twentynine Palms, Calif.

"It feels good to be back," Rodriguez said earlier this week, his eyes lighting up after being gone more than five months.

Both men said the perks of coming home include sleeping in their own beds instead of on the ground, eating food that doesn't come from a meal-ready-to-eat package and being able to use all the amenities in a modern bathroom.

Truex has been in the armed forces for about a year, and was in the Middle East from March until July. Rodriguez has served for a year and five months. Both have been promoted faster than usual, according to their recruiter, Staff Sgt. Daniel Cohen.

Rodriguez, a combat engineer, works with land mines, explosives and demolition on a regular basis. In Iraq, his team did everything from blowing up obstacles to building bunkers. His team was also in charge of destroying enemy weapons.

"At one time, they were going to have us go through a land mine area first and mark them all," he said. "It was scary doing that stuff. We didn't end up doing that one, but we were all pumped up for it."

Truex works in artillery and provided support for ground troops. In the war, 88 percent of casualties have been artillery troops, he noted. Once they arrived in major cities such as Baghdad, Truex and his colleagues worked to patrol the streets and keep peace in the war-afflicted area.

"There were a lot of people asking when their power and water would be back on," Truex said. "The kids were all happy to see us and would cheer and call Saddam names. We just tried to put the people there at ease a little bit."

Both men said the people in Iraq were very friendly. They remember being flanked by children, especially. At times, Rodriguez said, they would have to use the few local words they picked up to tell them to back away. They were offered Coca-Cola in glass bottles and bread from locals. and once in a while, even chocolate - welcome treats after the hard labor they performed day in and day out.

"I'm glad I went over," Truex said. "It's our job - we're trained for it."

Both men said their parents were eager to see them back, safe and sound.

"My mom kept saying her prayers had been answered," Truex explained. He was greeted last Thursday at the airport by a large group of family members, including a 4-year-old nephew who now sports a haircut similar to his uncle's. The family is holding a celebration in Truex's honor this weekend to mark his homecoming.

Rodriguez flew into Chicago, where many of his relatives live now. Before that, he was able to make it home to the base and his own family in time for his daughter's birthday in late July.

"It was great to hear his voice when he got back home," said his mother, Patricia Olson of Clive, who was waiting at the Chicago airport for her son when he arrived. "It's always safer to think he wasn't part of the action, but I found out later he was part of the big action. They raided the palace in Baghdad, and I'm glad I didn't know it before, but he saw a lot."

To say he saw a lot isn't the half of it.

Rodriguez was in the midst of the fighting outside Baghdad, and his team scaled the palace gates to move into the building. During the conflict, he saw his squad leader die after being shot in the neck and watched a Marine missing an arm - with just a rough bandage on it - help lift wounded and fallen soldiers.

"It was really tough," he said after describing the ordeal.

Now the two men are looking toward their next assignments. Both will go through extensive training in a U.S. desert. After that, more orders - or rather, opportunities - await.

Both joined the Marines for a challenge, they said. They believe that's what they got.

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Sempers,

Roger