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thedrifter
05-21-07, 08:20 AM
Marine returns for third tour

By Matt Cunningham

Staff Writer

Monday, May 21, 2007

WEST CHESTER TWP. — Stephen Schlau, a U.S. Marine corporal, has a face that appears younger than his 20 years. But there's steel in his expression.

Schlau is scheduled to leave for Camp LeJune, N.C. From there, he will fly to Iraq for his third tour of duty since his 2005 Lakota West High School graduation.

Schlau will be an assistant section leader in the U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Tank Battalion, TOW platoon. He will help command 30 Marines.

If all goes well, he said his goal is to make sergeant before he turns 21.

Schlau didn't have to go back to the war, he volunteered.

The section needed a corporal, and Schlau said he was getting a case of itchy feet.

"I'm the type of guy who always has to be doing something," he said. "I'm not used to more than six months in the States."

But back to war? Schlau knows the horrors of combat firsthand. During his first tour, he breached doors for house-to-house searches. He's been in three vehicles that were hit by IEDs, the third earning him a Purple Heart after a near-fatal concussion.

His father, Tom, said Stephen was tempted to give back the medal.

"It's that Marine mentality; no blood, no foul," Tom said. "It's that toughness they instill."

After seeing friends killed or maimed by roadside bombs, Stephen said he asked himself, 'What right do I have to accept this medal?'"

Stephen said he doesn't see himself as a career soldier. He said he wants to go to Ohio State University.

"Maybe get into physical therapy, be a trainer," he said. "I'd love to help people on my summer breaks."

But the medal, his education and his future beyond the war only come to mind when he's asked. He'd rather just sit quietly and look around.

"To see these people, sitting here at Panera," Schlau said, "eating this awesome food, just doing their thing — it's awesome.

"It all has changed me," he said of the war, "my outlook on life — I just take everything in."

Stephen said he's not worried about getting used to the patrols and their threat of danger again.

"After the first (deployment), it felt like I never left and this will probably feel the same — like I never left," he said. "All this is going to be a blur."

But he has memories he hopes to keep through the tour, buried somewhere under the adrenaline and vigilance. A day of fishing at a quiet lake and a softball game with his father come to mind, he said.

"That was the first time we've played together," he said. "Under the lights ... you couldn't have asked for a better night."


Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5127 or mcunningham@coxohio.com.

Ellie