thedrifter
09-25-07, 06:34 AM
When Timothy Bogna packed his bags and left for Iraq
Timothy Bogna
By Katherine Geyer
Signal Staff Writer
Tuesday September 25, 2007
When Timothy Bogna packed his bags and left for Iraq in 2005, his mother imagined the worst.
Eating dinners out of a can and sleeping in a tent in the middle of a sandy desert was the least of it.
The worst, she knew, was that she might never see her son again.
"I had visions of him coming back in a casket," Gina Bogna said.
But the mother of the 22-year-old was bursting with joy on Sunday during a "Welcome Home" party for Timothy, who returned from Iraq on Sept. 8.
Timothy has served in the U.S. Marines for nearly four years.
He just finished his second tour in Iraq and doesn't plan to go back.
In his first tour, Bogna rode on convoys throughout remote areas of Iraq. The second time around, he did logistical work on his base at the site one of Saddam Hussein's airports.
Bogna said the region had improved since he was first deployed in 2005.
"Things have calmed down immensely since then in that area of Iraq," he said. "Last time there was a lot of indirect fire. They'd shoot rockets on a daily or weekly basis. Stuff like that was very minimal this time."
But still, he said, he was on edge.
"It's a daily worry. You can't be complacent," he said. "Complacency kills. If you put your guard down, that's when something happens."
Nevertheless, he said, the morale among the troops has remained high.
"You help each other keep it high," he said. "It's stressful, but your friends keep you going."
He said the troops also tried to lift the spirits of some of the local Iraqis by handing out candy and toys to children when the troops received care packages from friends and families back home.
"My dad would always send me goofy stuff," he said.
He said he would hand out water balloons to local kids and watched as they threw them at one another.
Soccer balls were also popular among local kids, he said.
"As soon as you throw it to them, 10 kids will start fighting over it," he said.
While Timothy was in Iraq, Gina took it a day at a time. Her faith in God helped her through, she said.
"(Timothy) felt that he was called to serve in the Marines and I just needed to support that," she said. "Whether I agree with the war or not, I'm supportive of my son."
The Hart High School graduate joined the Marines because he "wanted to do something bigger." But he said when he reaches his four-year mark five months from now, he plans to leave the military and move back to Santa Clarita.
"I love being a Marine. I love what I do," he said. "But the lifestyle is definitely something that takes a certain personality to deal with it. I'm too family-oriented to do that."
His father, Glenn, said serving in Iraq was just what his son needed to mature.
"His perspective is very different than it was before," he said. "It's a lot broader than just the Santa Clarita Valley."
Gina Bogna agreed.
"I think he left a 19-year-old boy and came back a 22-year-old man," she said. "I think he has a perspective about life that most young men at 22 don't have unless they've been to war and back."
kgeyer@the-signal.com
Ellie
Timothy Bogna
By Katherine Geyer
Signal Staff Writer
Tuesday September 25, 2007
When Timothy Bogna packed his bags and left for Iraq in 2005, his mother imagined the worst.
Eating dinners out of a can and sleeping in a tent in the middle of a sandy desert was the least of it.
The worst, she knew, was that she might never see her son again.
"I had visions of him coming back in a casket," Gina Bogna said.
But the mother of the 22-year-old was bursting with joy on Sunday during a "Welcome Home" party for Timothy, who returned from Iraq on Sept. 8.
Timothy has served in the U.S. Marines for nearly four years.
He just finished his second tour in Iraq and doesn't plan to go back.
In his first tour, Bogna rode on convoys throughout remote areas of Iraq. The second time around, he did logistical work on his base at the site one of Saddam Hussein's airports.
Bogna said the region had improved since he was first deployed in 2005.
"Things have calmed down immensely since then in that area of Iraq," he said. "Last time there was a lot of indirect fire. They'd shoot rockets on a daily or weekly basis. Stuff like that was very minimal this time."
But still, he said, he was on edge.
"It's a daily worry. You can't be complacent," he said. "Complacency kills. If you put your guard down, that's when something happens."
Nevertheless, he said, the morale among the troops has remained high.
"You help each other keep it high," he said. "It's stressful, but your friends keep you going."
He said the troops also tried to lift the spirits of some of the local Iraqis by handing out candy and toys to children when the troops received care packages from friends and families back home.
"My dad would always send me goofy stuff," he said.
He said he would hand out water balloons to local kids and watched as they threw them at one another.
Soccer balls were also popular among local kids, he said.
"As soon as you throw it to them, 10 kids will start fighting over it," he said.
While Timothy was in Iraq, Gina took it a day at a time. Her faith in God helped her through, she said.
"(Timothy) felt that he was called to serve in the Marines and I just needed to support that," she said. "Whether I agree with the war or not, I'm supportive of my son."
The Hart High School graduate joined the Marines because he "wanted to do something bigger." But he said when he reaches his four-year mark five months from now, he plans to leave the military and move back to Santa Clarita.
"I love being a Marine. I love what I do," he said. "But the lifestyle is definitely something that takes a certain personality to deal with it. I'm too family-oriented to do that."
His father, Glenn, said serving in Iraq was just what his son needed to mature.
"His perspective is very different than it was before," he said. "It's a lot broader than just the Santa Clarita Valley."
Gina Bogna agreed.
"I think he left a 19-year-old boy and came back a 22-year-old man," she said. "I think he has a perspective about life that most young men at 22 don't have unless they've been to war and back."
kgeyer@the-signal.com
Ellie