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thedrifter
06-07-03, 07:56 AM
Posted June 04, 2003

Hugs, tears greet reservists

Marines return from action in Iraq
By Nathan Phelps
nphelps@greenbaypressgazette.com

ASHWAUBENON — Jon Massart was the third one off the bus Tuesday at the Naval & Marine Corps Reserve Center in Ashwaubenon. When he got off, the 27-year-old Luxemburg resident made eye contact with his sister, two brothers and niece. Then it didn’t take long for the first hugs.

Massart was home from the war in Iraq along with about 75 Marine reservists who left Ashwaubenon in the early morning light of a cold January day.

“I’m just glad to be back,” he said. “No sandstorms. No sand.”

The Marines, dressed in desert camouflage and well tanned, gave hugs and shook hands with family soaking in their first day back in Wisconsin after taking part in Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the buildup and war, the two units provided, fuel, water and general engineering duties.

Massart said one of the main motivations that kept him going was getting home. The other was the Iraqi people.

“A lot of the Iraqi people were happy to see us,” he said. “You’d have kids … sprinting for two blocks to come and wave, then they’d run away. It made us think we were actually wanted there, appreciated and helped out quite a bit.”

Tears, hugs and handshakes were the order of the day for Marines and family members in Ashwaubenon. The chilling cold of January had been replaced by a sunny, summer-like day — matching the mood of the people assembled to greet the Marines.

Betsy Caudle, Massart’s sister, waited for him with his brothers Brian and Chris and niece Kassandra.

“He looked good. He’s really tan,” she said after hugging Massart as he got off the bus. “He was the third one off that bus and he kind of stopped and stared at us. That was awesome.”

That was a scene played out time after time.

“Words can’t explain it right now,” said Lance Cpl. Brett Pribyl, 22, of Green Bay, while surrounded by his family. “I know I’m home right now. There’s no sand around, and it’s not 104 degrees.

“I’ve got green grass, beer, brats, cheese and Packers to look forward to now,” he said.

Pribyl also has his sister Erin’s wedding to look forward to in a month.

“It was surreal. Even this morning I was telling everybody, ‘I can’t get excited yet,’” she said. “Just to see him again is just amazing. I missed him so much ... and it was really hard being without him for so long.”

Small signs of war and the desert were evident.

Some of the Marines still had dog tags laced into their boots, a morbid reminder of the destructive nature of modern warfare and the dangers they faced. Desert sand still encrusted the tag worn on Massart’s boot.

The company’s commanding officer, Lt. Col. Mark Bannach of Merrill, said, among other things, the unit handled more than 7 million gallons of fuel and 5.5 million gallons of water during the war.

“We did everything that was ever asked of us, and it all boils down to the hard work of this unit,” he said.

Thirteen of the reservists have stayed behind in the Middle East to take care of the unit’s equipment.

What the reservists do next runs the full gamut. Massart says he wants to shop and get his 1969 Mustang running while Pribyl plans on buying a Harley-Davidson.

It’s even simpler for Cpl. Matt Peaslee, 22, of Greenfield.

“Nothing. Sitting on the couch and doing nothing,” he said.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_10603089.shtml


Sempers,

Roger