Fallen comrades remembered

Sunday, January 04, 2004

By Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Family and friends broke into cheers yesterday as 71 reserve soldiers from Western Pennsylvania arrived by bus in New Kensington after 10 months in Iraq.

	Tony Tye, Post-Gazette Sarah Metz, of Penn Hills, a member of the 307th Military Police Company, celebrates her return yesterday with her nephew, Preston Dembowsky, 1, whom she last saw as a newborn.

"It's wonderful to have him home," said April Shroyer, wife of Staff Sgt. Robert Shroyer of Mount Pleasant. "It's been a long year. I've got a lot of things for him to do."

Robert Shroyer, 30, said he couldn't wait to hug his children -- Caleb, 8, and Regan, 16 months.

Shroyer and the rest of the 307th Military Police Company, U.S. Army Reserve, were called to active duty Feb. 24 and returned to the U.S. on Christmas Day. The unit spent most of its time in Baghdad, chiefly in the Shi'ia Muslim section called Sadr City, formerly Saddam City.

Two chartered buses carrying the 307th from Fort Dix, N.J., arrived at the reserve center in New Kensington a little after 2 p.m. yesterday. Many relatives awaiting their return yesterday wore T-shirts with the picture of their loved one and the inscription "My soldier, my hero" on them.

The soldiers were also greeted by Maj. Gen. Karol Kennedy, commander of the Coraopolis-based 99th Regional Readiness Command, to which the 307th belongs, and by Girl Scouts who serenaded them with an off-key, but heartfelt rendition of "God Bless the USA."

"You deserve every honor that can be bestowed upon you," Kennedy told the reservists before they were dismissed to join their families. "You are the nation's heroes, and they love you."

Two 307th soldiers were killed during the deployment. Spc. Eric Hull, 23, of Fayette County was returning from Baghdad International Airport Aug. 18 when a roadside bomb detonated. Sgt. Nicholas Tomko, 24, of McKees Rocks was shot in an ambush south of Baghdad Nov. 9.

"We want the families of Eric and Nick to know they will never be forgotten," said Staff Sgt. Lynn Trax, 35, of Wheeling, W.Va.

Their comrades who made it out safely were as delighted to be home as their loved ones were to have them back, but were proud of their service in Iraq.

"We made a major difference," said Capt. Bill Rok, 33, of Upper St. Clair, the company commander. "The people loved us."

The unit's chief accomplishment was starting up five police stations, and successfully turning them over to the newly established Iraqi police, said Rok, a physical trainer in civilian life.

"When we first got in the country, people were shy," said Sgt. 1st Class Donald Perrine, 53, of Natrona. "Once we got the police stations established, the people were real friendly. They hated to see us leave."

But not everyone was friendly, Perrine said.

"These kids have been through a lot," he said, waving his hand in the direction of his fellow soldiers. "There was a time when a platoon was holding back 4,000 people."

Perrine served in the first Gulf War, too. The supply line was better then, he said.

Sean Rourke of Ross, who celebrated his 21st birthday in Iraq, has fond memories of the Iraqi police.

"We were on the night shift at a police station in Baghdad," he recalled. "When the shift was over, the Iraqi police brought in a cake."

Spc. Jessica Taylor of Parkersburg, W.Va., also celebrated her 21st birthday in Iraq, but hers was less exciting.

"I slept," she said.

Rourke is planning to go into the regular Army.

"I love this," he said. "This is what I was made for. I couldn't imagine being around any other type of people (but soldiers)."

But Rourke's comrades were eager to return to civilian life.

Spc. Kim Cinkan, 21, said she was looking forward to "sitting on my couch."

Sgt. Jennifer Appelbaum, 27, of Philadelphia, said she was looking forward to a good meal, which she defined as "anything not made by the Army."

Sgt. Tom Malewski, 26, of Castle Shannon said the first thing he was going to do was get a Fiori's pizza.

Military service isn't over for all members of the 307th. Several soldiers have volunteered to return to Fort Dix to help train the troops of B Battery, 107th Field Artillery, a Pennsylvania National Guard unit based in Shadyside.

B Battery, which was activated Dec. 18, will be leaving for Iraq in February or March, where the troops will function as military police.

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