thedrifter
10-22-05, 06:36 AM
Heat hardest part of Iraq for Marine
Bevent father relieved son survived nine months of warBy Jake Rigdon
Wausau Daily Herald
jrigdon@wdhprint.com
BEVENT - Perry Cebula will never forget the day his son, Josh, told him not to worry, that he would be back.
Josh left the next day for Iraq.
Perry, 43, is a divorced father of two. His daughter, Ashley, lives with her mother, Gail Yenter, in Stratford. It was painful seeing his son go.
"When he left, it was, 'OK, see you soon. Good luck.' But for him to tell me not to worry ... that was real touching for me," Perry said.
About a month after some of the trucks in Josh's battalion were outfitted with armor, two of those vehicles were hammered by improvised explosive devices, but they did little damage.
That was about the most action his battalion encountered. Cebula rarely was shot at, and most of the Iraqis he saw were happy the U.S. troops were there.
But the hardest part, Cebula said, was the heat. Temperatures there regularly toped 135 to 140 degrees during the daytime and dipped down to just 100 degrees at night.
"I'm loving this," Cebula said about the Wisconsin weather.
Cebula's unit was in a motor transport platoon, where his job was changing tires. They were stationed much of the time in a tiny base outside of Habbaniya, Iraq, which is about three hours west of Fallujah.
There was little to do at the base during free time, other than lift weights. The big news came when some new buildings were built - and equipped with air conditioners. Before then, Cebula said he went the first three months without air conditioning.
"You had to drink a lot of water (to avoid heat stroke)," he said. "We'd easily drink 10 to 15 bottles (of water) a day."
Cebula said he has seen progress in U.S. efforts to train the new Iraqi armed forces, although he said it was hard to say how Iraqis would react to having a new constitution.
Cebula has close to two years left of active-duty service; there's talk, he said, about sending him back for a second tour of duty. He reports back to headquarters Oct. 31.
For now, though, Perry has seen changes in his son.
"When he got home, he asked if I needed any help," Perry said. "He's more mature now, has more respect.
"I'm just glad he's back."
Ellie
Bevent father relieved son survived nine months of warBy Jake Rigdon
Wausau Daily Herald
jrigdon@wdhprint.com
BEVENT - Perry Cebula will never forget the day his son, Josh, told him not to worry, that he would be back.
Josh left the next day for Iraq.
Perry, 43, is a divorced father of two. His daughter, Ashley, lives with her mother, Gail Yenter, in Stratford. It was painful seeing his son go.
"When he left, it was, 'OK, see you soon. Good luck.' But for him to tell me not to worry ... that was real touching for me," Perry said.
About a month after some of the trucks in Josh's battalion were outfitted with armor, two of those vehicles were hammered by improvised explosive devices, but they did little damage.
That was about the most action his battalion encountered. Cebula rarely was shot at, and most of the Iraqis he saw were happy the U.S. troops were there.
But the hardest part, Cebula said, was the heat. Temperatures there regularly toped 135 to 140 degrees during the daytime and dipped down to just 100 degrees at night.
"I'm loving this," Cebula said about the Wisconsin weather.
Cebula's unit was in a motor transport platoon, where his job was changing tires. They were stationed much of the time in a tiny base outside of Habbaniya, Iraq, which is about three hours west of Fallujah.
There was little to do at the base during free time, other than lift weights. The big news came when some new buildings were built - and equipped with air conditioners. Before then, Cebula said he went the first three months without air conditioning.
"You had to drink a lot of water (to avoid heat stroke)," he said. "We'd easily drink 10 to 15 bottles (of water) a day."
Cebula said he has seen progress in U.S. efforts to train the new Iraqi armed forces, although he said it was hard to say how Iraqis would react to having a new constitution.
Cebula has close to two years left of active-duty service; there's talk, he said, about sending him back for a second tour of duty. He reports back to headquarters Oct. 31.
For now, though, Perry has seen changes in his son.
"When he got home, he asked if I needed any help," Perry said. "He's more mature now, has more respect.
"I'm just glad he's back."
Ellie