thedrifter
12-20-08, 06:16 AM
Article published Dec 20, 2008
Marine home to Rutland for the holidays
By Dawson Raspuzzi Herald Staff
After being stationed overseas with the U.S. Marines since May, Cpl. Christopher Horwedel was greeted by friends, family and even some celebrities upon returning to his hometown of Rutland this week.
A "Welcome Home Chris" sign with a collage of pictures — ranging from a teenager snowboarding and a man in his Marines uniform — hung over the porch at his father's house as guests filed in to see their friend.
A field radio operator with the Marines, Horwedel, 25, was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, from May 2007 until the following April when he was shipped to Iraq with an Incident Response Platoon and was stationed there until just before Halloween.
In October, Horwedel returned to Okinawa before coming back to the states on some post-deployment leave he had saved up. He plans to be here for the next couple of weeks.
In the Marines, Horwedel works on convoy and VIP security and is often the only communication person in a group of around 60 Marines.
Working with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, Horwedel has the responsibility of communicating battle station coordinates, among other things, he said.
"I coordinate with them to let them know what we're doing, anything to do with tactical communication is my responsibility," he said.
Horwedel credited both his parents and the people he grew up with for helping him get where he is today.
After arriving home Thursday evening, Horwedel became just another Vermonter enjoying the winter weather. He was snowboarding at Killington Ski Resort when the trails opened Friday, where he stayed until just before sunset.
Friday evening though, Horwedel was greeted with a phone call from Patrick Leahy, the Democratic U.S. Senator from Vermont, and also shown clips his father recorded at a convention where Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island and actor Leslie Nielsen, welcomed him home and thanked him for serving.
Afterward, many friends and relatives stopped by and filled the home.
After graduating from Rutland High School, Horwedel competed in snowboarding competitions for four years (his father still has trophies on display at his house to prove it) and worked a few different jobs.
In the fall of 2006, at age 23, Horwedel said he needed a change.
"Two weeks before enlisting he looked at me and said 'dad, is this all there is,' and I said unless you do some sort of schooling or learn a new trade, yeah it is," his father Mark Horwedel, who served in the U.S. Navy, recalled in an interview Friday.
"I needed a change … I'd always thought about joining the Marines, ever since I was in Civil Air Patrol," Horwedel said.
Joining CAP, a volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, at 12 years old, Horwedel got his first experience performing military-style missions where he helped locate crashed planes and missing people. During the ice storm of 1998, Horwedel went to Plattsburgh, N.Y., and helped with radio patrols, he said.
Little did he know that almost 10 years later he'd be stationed overseas as a field radio operator with the Marines.
Although, it wasn't his choice to continue working with radio communication, he said. "I found out after MCT (Marine Combat Training), they said 'you're going to California to be a 0621,' and I said 'what's that?" Horwedel said. "They said it's a field operator."
"I like what I do though, I got good at it when I was in Iraq, you've got to get good at it when lives are on the line," Horwedel said.
While he knew when he enlisted he'd likely be put into danger, Horwedel said the experience thus far has been like nothing he could have experienced in Vermont.
"It's been introspective. I've learned a lot about life and a lot about myself and a lot about the Marine Corps," Horwedel said. "There's no doubt in my mind we're the good guys out there."
In a few weeks, Horwedel will return to Okinawa, and in about a year he'll face the decision of whether to continue with the Marines or move on to a different career — a decision he said he hasn't come to yet.
Although while he's back in his hometown, Horwedel said besides snowboarding, the thing he's been thinking about and most looking forward to is just sitting down on the couch and watching movies with his dad.
Contact Dawson Raspuzzi at dawson.raspuzzi@rutlandherald.com.
Ellie
Marine home to Rutland for the holidays
By Dawson Raspuzzi Herald Staff
After being stationed overseas with the U.S. Marines since May, Cpl. Christopher Horwedel was greeted by friends, family and even some celebrities upon returning to his hometown of Rutland this week.
A "Welcome Home Chris" sign with a collage of pictures — ranging from a teenager snowboarding and a man in his Marines uniform — hung over the porch at his father's house as guests filed in to see their friend.
A field radio operator with the Marines, Horwedel, 25, was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, from May 2007 until the following April when he was shipped to Iraq with an Incident Response Platoon and was stationed there until just before Halloween.
In October, Horwedel returned to Okinawa before coming back to the states on some post-deployment leave he had saved up. He plans to be here for the next couple of weeks.
In the Marines, Horwedel works on convoy and VIP security and is often the only communication person in a group of around 60 Marines.
Working with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, Horwedel has the responsibility of communicating battle station coordinates, among other things, he said.
"I coordinate with them to let them know what we're doing, anything to do with tactical communication is my responsibility," he said.
Horwedel credited both his parents and the people he grew up with for helping him get where he is today.
After arriving home Thursday evening, Horwedel became just another Vermonter enjoying the winter weather. He was snowboarding at Killington Ski Resort when the trails opened Friday, where he stayed until just before sunset.
Friday evening though, Horwedel was greeted with a phone call from Patrick Leahy, the Democratic U.S. Senator from Vermont, and also shown clips his father recorded at a convention where Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island and actor Leslie Nielsen, welcomed him home and thanked him for serving.
Afterward, many friends and relatives stopped by and filled the home.
After graduating from Rutland High School, Horwedel competed in snowboarding competitions for four years (his father still has trophies on display at his house to prove it) and worked a few different jobs.
In the fall of 2006, at age 23, Horwedel said he needed a change.
"Two weeks before enlisting he looked at me and said 'dad, is this all there is,' and I said unless you do some sort of schooling or learn a new trade, yeah it is," his father Mark Horwedel, who served in the U.S. Navy, recalled in an interview Friday.
"I needed a change … I'd always thought about joining the Marines, ever since I was in Civil Air Patrol," Horwedel said.
Joining CAP, a volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, at 12 years old, Horwedel got his first experience performing military-style missions where he helped locate crashed planes and missing people. During the ice storm of 1998, Horwedel went to Plattsburgh, N.Y., and helped with radio patrols, he said.
Little did he know that almost 10 years later he'd be stationed overseas as a field radio operator with the Marines.
Although, it wasn't his choice to continue working with radio communication, he said. "I found out after MCT (Marine Combat Training), they said 'you're going to California to be a 0621,' and I said 'what's that?" Horwedel said. "They said it's a field operator."
"I like what I do though, I got good at it when I was in Iraq, you've got to get good at it when lives are on the line," Horwedel said.
While he knew when he enlisted he'd likely be put into danger, Horwedel said the experience thus far has been like nothing he could have experienced in Vermont.
"It's been introspective. I've learned a lot about life and a lot about myself and a lot about the Marine Corps," Horwedel said. "There's no doubt in my mind we're the good guys out there."
In a few weeks, Horwedel will return to Okinawa, and in about a year he'll face the decision of whether to continue with the Marines or move on to a different career — a decision he said he hasn't come to yet.
Although while he's back in his hometown, Horwedel said besides snowboarding, the thing he's been thinking about and most looking forward to is just sitting down on the couch and watching movies with his dad.
Contact Dawson Raspuzzi at dawson.raspuzzi@rutlandherald.com.
Ellie