thedrifter
03-19-07, 11:33 AM
Article published Mar 19, 2007
Mar 19, 2007
Views on war evolve for area soldiers' parents
JACK STRIPLING
Sun staff writer
Kathy and Bob Niederloh, stepfather to the two Marines and a former recruiter for the U.S. Air Force, have already held their breath through one of Wyatt Zinninger's tours in Iraq. In the coming months, they expect to see both brothers redeployed to that country.
A navy blue pickup shines in the afternoon sun outside Bob and Kathy Niederloh's northwest Gainesville home. The truck's license plate frame reads "Marine Dad" and an American flag blows softly behind it.
The Niederlohs' family room pays homage to two brothers, Cpl. T.J. Zinninger, 21, and Lance Cpl. Wyatt Zinninger, 19. A wall of photographs shows the Zinninger brothers grow from small children into steely-faced young men. In one casual glance, a visitor can trace the story of these Marines, watching them grow from a couple of kids at Buchholz High School to military men.
"They tell them to look mean," says Kathy Niederloh, looking at the pictures of her sons in uniform.
Kathy and Bob Niederloh, stepfather to the two Marines and a former recruiter for the U.S. Air Force, have already held their breath through one of Wyatt Zinninger's tours in Iraq. In the coming months, they expect to see both brothers redeployed to that country.
Once staunch supporters of the war in Iraq, the Niederlohs have begun to question the wisdom of keeping U.S. soldiers there any longer.
"I was very angry about what happened in 9-11," said Kathy Niederloh, a paralegal for a local law firm. "I wanted to kick some butt over it. Somebody had to pay.
"But this whole conflict has evolved where we are caught between the sides of suicidal fanatics. It's not our responsibility to stop their civil war."
As the conflict has evolved, so has the thinking of the Niederlohs, both 48. Bob Niederloh says he wanted to see Saddam Hussein toppled, but he can't see a justification for staying in Iraq. The war started four years ago today.
And though Kathy Niederloh says she feels "selfish" about her reasoning, she concedes that her opinion about the war has been dramatically shaped by her own son's involvement in the conflict.
"I'll give you an honest answer," she said. "I started turning against it when my youngest son went over there."
Kathy Niederloh's youngest son, Wyatt Zinninger, joined the Marines on Mother's Day 2005. In his first tour, the lance corporal fought in hot spots like Haditha. Unlike his brother, who serves as satellite communications operator aboard a warship, Wyatt Zinninger was adamant about being in the infantry.
Kathy Niederloh tried to talk her son out of entering the infantry, but she says he was insistent. From the little she knows of his encounters in Iraq - Zinninger seldom speaks of it - the mother's fears have been justified.
"I said, â€òSon, are you getting shot at?' And he said, â€òMom, I really don't want to talk about it, but I'll tell you: Yes, I'm getting shot at,' " Niederloh recalls.
The Niederlohs both express adamant support for the Marines, saying military service has been "a good thing" for both the Zinninger brothers. While they worry about a backlash from speaking out against the war, both say they continue to be supporters of the troops, the military and President Bush.
"I'm not sorry I voted for President Bush," Kathy Niederloh said. "But I think he is a hardheaded individual who will sacrifice people to prove his point."
Even if she questions Bush's policies, Kathy Niederloh says she's reluctant to enter into a political blame game, which she says has so consumed the country that progress has become impossible.
She's critical, for instance, of the political tone that has so dominated the activism of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier in Iraq who has held protests outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Sheehan could make more progress helping the troops without playing up political divisions, Kathy Niederloh said.
The Niederlohs said they came forward with their position with some trepidation, but felt it important to speak out.
Both say they perhaps worry most about what the Zinninger brothers will say. So much so, in fact, that the Niederlohs insisted the Zinningers not be contacted for this story.
Niederloh added that she didn't think either of her sons would talk with the media, as evidenced by Wyatt Zinninger's refusal to speak with reporters he's encountered in Iraq.
Furthermore, Niederloh said both brothers would worry about anything that might reflect poorly upon the Marines, and Wyatt Zinninger in particular has said he thinks fighting in Iraq "validates" him as a Marine.
"We worry how our sons will feel," Kathy Niederloh said. "The devotion and commitment that they have is so strong that they will never enter into a discussion such as we're having. But there's nothing wrong with feeling the way we feel."INFOBOXDeaths of soldiers
Of the more than 3,000 soldiers killed in Iraq in the past four years, more than 130 have come from Florida and a number have area ties:
*Â March 23, 2003: Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Rory Buesing, 20, of Cedar Key.
*Â March 23, 2003: Marine Lance Cpl. Tamario Burkett, 21, a Gainesville native who used to live in LaCrosse.
*Â April 17, 2003: Florida National Guard Cpl. John "Travis" Rivero, 23, of Gainesville.
*Â July 6, 2003: Army Pfc. Jeffrey Wershow, 22, of Gainesville.
*Â July 20, 2003: Army Sgt. Justin "Hobie" Garvey, 23, of Townsend, Mass. His father lives in Keystone Heights.
*Â April 9, 2004: Army Staff Sgt. Raymond Edison Jones Jr., 31, of Gainesville.
*Â Aug. 18, 2004: Marine Sgt. Richard M. Lord, 24, of Jacksonville. His father lives in Trenton and mother is a school bus driver for Gilchrist County.
*Â Jan. 28, 2005: Chief Warrant Officer Charles Jones, 34, of Lawtey.Jack Stripling can be reached at 352-374-5064 or Jack.Stripling@gvillesun.com.
Ellie
Mar 19, 2007
Views on war evolve for area soldiers' parents
JACK STRIPLING
Sun staff writer
Kathy and Bob Niederloh, stepfather to the two Marines and a former recruiter for the U.S. Air Force, have already held their breath through one of Wyatt Zinninger's tours in Iraq. In the coming months, they expect to see both brothers redeployed to that country.
A navy blue pickup shines in the afternoon sun outside Bob and Kathy Niederloh's northwest Gainesville home. The truck's license plate frame reads "Marine Dad" and an American flag blows softly behind it.
The Niederlohs' family room pays homage to two brothers, Cpl. T.J. Zinninger, 21, and Lance Cpl. Wyatt Zinninger, 19. A wall of photographs shows the Zinninger brothers grow from small children into steely-faced young men. In one casual glance, a visitor can trace the story of these Marines, watching them grow from a couple of kids at Buchholz High School to military men.
"They tell them to look mean," says Kathy Niederloh, looking at the pictures of her sons in uniform.
Kathy and Bob Niederloh, stepfather to the two Marines and a former recruiter for the U.S. Air Force, have already held their breath through one of Wyatt Zinninger's tours in Iraq. In the coming months, they expect to see both brothers redeployed to that country.
Once staunch supporters of the war in Iraq, the Niederlohs have begun to question the wisdom of keeping U.S. soldiers there any longer.
"I was very angry about what happened in 9-11," said Kathy Niederloh, a paralegal for a local law firm. "I wanted to kick some butt over it. Somebody had to pay.
"But this whole conflict has evolved where we are caught between the sides of suicidal fanatics. It's not our responsibility to stop their civil war."
As the conflict has evolved, so has the thinking of the Niederlohs, both 48. Bob Niederloh says he wanted to see Saddam Hussein toppled, but he can't see a justification for staying in Iraq. The war started four years ago today.
And though Kathy Niederloh says she feels "selfish" about her reasoning, she concedes that her opinion about the war has been dramatically shaped by her own son's involvement in the conflict.
"I'll give you an honest answer," she said. "I started turning against it when my youngest son went over there."
Kathy Niederloh's youngest son, Wyatt Zinninger, joined the Marines on Mother's Day 2005. In his first tour, the lance corporal fought in hot spots like Haditha. Unlike his brother, who serves as satellite communications operator aboard a warship, Wyatt Zinninger was adamant about being in the infantry.
Kathy Niederloh tried to talk her son out of entering the infantry, but she says he was insistent. From the little she knows of his encounters in Iraq - Zinninger seldom speaks of it - the mother's fears have been justified.
"I said, â€òSon, are you getting shot at?' And he said, â€òMom, I really don't want to talk about it, but I'll tell you: Yes, I'm getting shot at,' " Niederloh recalls.
The Niederlohs both express adamant support for the Marines, saying military service has been "a good thing" for both the Zinninger brothers. While they worry about a backlash from speaking out against the war, both say they continue to be supporters of the troops, the military and President Bush.
"I'm not sorry I voted for President Bush," Kathy Niederloh said. "But I think he is a hardheaded individual who will sacrifice people to prove his point."
Even if she questions Bush's policies, Kathy Niederloh says she's reluctant to enter into a political blame game, which she says has so consumed the country that progress has become impossible.
She's critical, for instance, of the political tone that has so dominated the activism of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier in Iraq who has held protests outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Sheehan could make more progress helping the troops without playing up political divisions, Kathy Niederloh said.
The Niederlohs said they came forward with their position with some trepidation, but felt it important to speak out.
Both say they perhaps worry most about what the Zinninger brothers will say. So much so, in fact, that the Niederlohs insisted the Zinningers not be contacted for this story.
Niederloh added that she didn't think either of her sons would talk with the media, as evidenced by Wyatt Zinninger's refusal to speak with reporters he's encountered in Iraq.
Furthermore, Niederloh said both brothers would worry about anything that might reflect poorly upon the Marines, and Wyatt Zinninger in particular has said he thinks fighting in Iraq "validates" him as a Marine.
"We worry how our sons will feel," Kathy Niederloh said. "The devotion and commitment that they have is so strong that they will never enter into a discussion such as we're having. But there's nothing wrong with feeling the way we feel."INFOBOXDeaths of soldiers
Of the more than 3,000 soldiers killed in Iraq in the past four years, more than 130 have come from Florida and a number have area ties:
*Â March 23, 2003: Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Rory Buesing, 20, of Cedar Key.
*Â March 23, 2003: Marine Lance Cpl. Tamario Burkett, 21, a Gainesville native who used to live in LaCrosse.
*Â April 17, 2003: Florida National Guard Cpl. John "Travis" Rivero, 23, of Gainesville.
*Â July 6, 2003: Army Pfc. Jeffrey Wershow, 22, of Gainesville.
*Â July 20, 2003: Army Sgt. Justin "Hobie" Garvey, 23, of Townsend, Mass. His father lives in Keystone Heights.
*Â April 9, 2004: Army Staff Sgt. Raymond Edison Jones Jr., 31, of Gainesville.
*Â Aug. 18, 2004: Marine Sgt. Richard M. Lord, 24, of Jacksonville. His father lives in Trenton and mother is a school bus driver for Gilchrist County.
*Â Jan. 28, 2005: Chief Warrant Officer Charles Jones, 34, of Lawtey.Jack Stripling can be reached at 352-374-5064 or Jack.Stripling@gvillesun.com.
Ellie