thedrifter
12-23-05, 07:40 AM
Marine reservists cherish the support of peers
Web Posted: 12/23/2005 12:00 AM CST
Vincent T. Davis
Express-News Staff Writer
"As long as the man to my left and the man to my right support me while I'm there, that's all that matters." — Marine Sgt. Joseph Gonzales, 30.
During a time when polls show a large segment of the American public supports the military but differs on the war in Iraq, one man's motto exemplifies the Marine Corps ideal.
Gonzales, who lives by that code, has a stare that sears like a flame when he speaks of being a Marine.
He sat beside fellow Marine reservists Cpl. Danny Peters, 21, and Gunnery Sgt. Frank Guajardo, 53, in a conference room at the Naval and Marine Corps Training Center at Fort Sam Houston.
They're assigned to the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion and were deployed to Iraq with 50 fellow Marines from April to October.
Upon the men's return, arrangements were made to talk with them again once they settled in back home. The three have now had time to visit with friends and reconnect with family. Now, it's back to war-time work and continued training.
Gonzales and Peters were attached to Charlie Company, with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion headquartered in Okinawa, Japan.
They were deployed to Al Anbar province near the Syrian border, an area heavy with insurgent activity.
Time passed quickly when they worked 18 to 20 hours a day. Peters patrolled streets on foot and drove Humvees along supply line routes.
Gonzales served as a platoon sergeant training the Iraqi Army security forces.
One of the toughest jobs was logistics, Gonzales and Peters said. That's the job Guajardo was in charge of while attached to the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment at Haditha Dam, where he also lived.
"Logistics is one word. There's a lot of letters in it, but it means more," Gonzales said. "It's beans, bullets and Band-Aids. It's every single thing we need to keep going."
Guajardo, a Bexar County deputy sheriff, joined the Marines in 1972. He served eight years, left for 10 years and returned in 1990.
Gonzales followed his father, uncle and brother, who were also Marines.
This was his second tour in Iraq. His first deployment took him to the streets of embattled Fallujah.
In the spring Peters plans to enroll as a freshman at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Gonzales is protective of his friend and trainee who joined the Corps after graduating from high school. He stressed that Peters has had zero time as a civilian, unlike many of his peers.
The battalion lost Marines from all five of their companies.
Shadow boxes with color photographs of two of the eight killed in action were propped in the corner.
Mementos and Marine insignias encircled 8-by-10 photos of Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Kinchen, 22, and Cpl. Stephen P. Gill, 24, both deployed with Gonzales and Peters.
Kinchen died in an April 4 explosion. Gill died when an explosive device detonated near Zaidon, Iraq, on July 21.
Three Marines deployed with Guajardo were killed. Delta, Echo and Bravo companies each lost one man.
Guarjardo said his years as a Bexar County deputy sheriff helped prepare him for violence and loss of life.
"You try to depersonalize yourself from it so you can deal with it later and not get caught up in emotions while you're out there," Guajardo said. "You don't have that luxury."
Gonzales doesn't comment, signaling with a wave of his hand, that some things are better left unsaid.
The Marines are family, said Cpl. Elan Flores, public affairs liaison, and when there's a loss the most important thing is taking care of family members.
Things like barbecued ribs on the Fourth of July and living in trailers, three men to a room, with showers, boosted their spirits. They had e-mail and webcam access, things that were science fiction in past wars.
"When we get sent off somewhere, normally it's not a personal thing, we're going because of the fellow Marines we're with," Guajardo said. "We take care of them and make sure they're going to do the things they've been taught to survive. As long as you have the support of people at home, that makes the job a lot easier."
Peters agreed, saying the Corps taught him hard work. If given the chance, he said, he'd do it again.
"The carrot at the end of the stick for me has been pride," Gonzales said.
"There's more I've got to do. I want to do what I do and enjoy doing it."
vtdavis@express-news.net
Ellie
Web Posted: 12/23/2005 12:00 AM CST
Vincent T. Davis
Express-News Staff Writer
"As long as the man to my left and the man to my right support me while I'm there, that's all that matters." — Marine Sgt. Joseph Gonzales, 30.
During a time when polls show a large segment of the American public supports the military but differs on the war in Iraq, one man's motto exemplifies the Marine Corps ideal.
Gonzales, who lives by that code, has a stare that sears like a flame when he speaks of being a Marine.
He sat beside fellow Marine reservists Cpl. Danny Peters, 21, and Gunnery Sgt. Frank Guajardo, 53, in a conference room at the Naval and Marine Corps Training Center at Fort Sam Houston.
They're assigned to the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion and were deployed to Iraq with 50 fellow Marines from April to October.
Upon the men's return, arrangements were made to talk with them again once they settled in back home. The three have now had time to visit with friends and reconnect with family. Now, it's back to war-time work and continued training.
Gonzales and Peters were attached to Charlie Company, with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion headquartered in Okinawa, Japan.
They were deployed to Al Anbar province near the Syrian border, an area heavy with insurgent activity.
Time passed quickly when they worked 18 to 20 hours a day. Peters patrolled streets on foot and drove Humvees along supply line routes.
Gonzales served as a platoon sergeant training the Iraqi Army security forces.
One of the toughest jobs was logistics, Gonzales and Peters said. That's the job Guajardo was in charge of while attached to the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment at Haditha Dam, where he also lived.
"Logistics is one word. There's a lot of letters in it, but it means more," Gonzales said. "It's beans, bullets and Band-Aids. It's every single thing we need to keep going."
Guajardo, a Bexar County deputy sheriff, joined the Marines in 1972. He served eight years, left for 10 years and returned in 1990.
Gonzales followed his father, uncle and brother, who were also Marines.
This was his second tour in Iraq. His first deployment took him to the streets of embattled Fallujah.
In the spring Peters plans to enroll as a freshman at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Gonzales is protective of his friend and trainee who joined the Corps after graduating from high school. He stressed that Peters has had zero time as a civilian, unlike many of his peers.
The battalion lost Marines from all five of their companies.
Shadow boxes with color photographs of two of the eight killed in action were propped in the corner.
Mementos and Marine insignias encircled 8-by-10 photos of Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Kinchen, 22, and Cpl. Stephen P. Gill, 24, both deployed with Gonzales and Peters.
Kinchen died in an April 4 explosion. Gill died when an explosive device detonated near Zaidon, Iraq, on July 21.
Three Marines deployed with Guajardo were killed. Delta, Echo and Bravo companies each lost one man.
Guarjardo said his years as a Bexar County deputy sheriff helped prepare him for violence and loss of life.
"You try to depersonalize yourself from it so you can deal with it later and not get caught up in emotions while you're out there," Guajardo said. "You don't have that luxury."
Gonzales doesn't comment, signaling with a wave of his hand, that some things are better left unsaid.
The Marines are family, said Cpl. Elan Flores, public affairs liaison, and when there's a loss the most important thing is taking care of family members.
Things like barbecued ribs on the Fourth of July and living in trailers, three men to a room, with showers, boosted their spirits. They had e-mail and webcam access, things that were science fiction in past wars.
"When we get sent off somewhere, normally it's not a personal thing, we're going because of the fellow Marines we're with," Guajardo said. "We take care of them and make sure they're going to do the things they've been taught to survive. As long as you have the support of people at home, that makes the job a lot easier."
Peters agreed, saying the Corps taught him hard work. If given the chance, he said, he'd do it again.
"The carrot at the end of the stick for me has been pride," Gonzales said.
"There's more I've got to do. I want to do what I do and enjoy doing it."
vtdavis@express-news.net
Ellie