 U.S. Army Black Hawk gunner David Scott transports personnel during an operation in Iraq. |
The Town Crier catches up with returned veterans whose stories appeared in this paper while they were still on active duty in the Iraq War.
David Scott was a 20-year-old side gunner in a Black Hawk helicopter flying with the 101st Airborne Division stationed in Kuwait when his story appeared May 21, 2003. He was later stationed in Mosul, Iraq, 250 miles northwest of Baghdad, where his platoon patrolled the streets “to show people we’re there and ready to help.” He returned from his 12-month tour of duty in April 2004.
His aunt, Roberta Pyne, a second-grade teacher at Oak Avenue School, said, “The family is thrilled that he’s home and didn’t have to stay longer.” His mother, Sandra Scott, is a patient account manager for Altos Pediatrics. The family lives in Santa Clara.
Scott’s tour of duty in Iraq “was the longest time of my life,” his mother said last week. He joined the Army before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and was stationed first at Fort Campbell, Ky., then at Fort Benning, Ga., before going overseas. He had not been home in three years when he surprised his family Christmas 2003.
“He always said, ‘Don’t worry, Mom. (If I’m killed) someone will come to your door before the media advises you.’ Then I saw a car pull up and a military uniform get out. As soon as he turned around … ‘Oh, my God!’ I screamed. I think I gave my neighbor a heart attack because I was so excited.”
Now 23 and a freshman at Mission College, the former infantryman is enrolled in the inactive reserves and working part time for the Department of Homeland Security screening passengers and luggage at San Jose International Airport, where his father also works.
“It’s not the ideal job,” Scott said last week. “I’m trying to go through school at the same time, and it’s a little rough.” Meanwhile, he has applied to become a federal air marshal.
Of his war experience, Scott said, “I really don’t think about it much anymore - it’s in the past. Not many people experience that same kind of thing, but I don’t go around bragging about it.”
His mother said, “He used to say, ‘Mom, this is my job, this is what I have to do, and I’m OK with that.’” She added, “War is not a good thing, but we supported him, and we’re proud of what he did.
“To have him come home, and come home safe - everything he left with, he came home with. I feel for those whose sons and daughters don’t come home - or come home without an arm or leg.”
Ben Wetzel was a 21-year-old lance corporal serving a second tour of duty in Iraq with the 5th Division, 1st Marines, Alpha Company, when stories about him appeared July 28 and Aug. 4, 2004. Wetzel was one of the troops who captured Baghdad, where he earned a Purple Heart. Later, his company was in heavy fighting in Al-Fallujah.
John Kells, a neighbor of Wetzel’s girlfriend, Kristin Matilainen, said, “Everybody’s thrilled to have Ben back. When he went back for a third tour of duty after his homecoming, he surprised everyone.”
Wetzel could not be reached by press time, but Kells said the 22-year-old is working at a new car dealership in Redwood City, going to school and “doing quite well.”
“He’s still a really young guy, but talk about maturity. (After) what he’s been through, he’s a much more serious person now,” Kells said.
What does Kells want readers to know? “Just how much we care for Ben and are delighted he’s back.”
Christopher Lillibridge is a career military man who was with the 33rd Armored Cavalry Regiment when his story appeared July 23, 2003. After serving a year in Iraq, he transferred to Egypt and was with the U.N. contingent during the Palestinian elections.
Staff Sgt. Lillibridge is the noncommissioned officer in charge of aircraft recovery team operations for Bravo Company, 209th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Brigade, stationed at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii.
His mother, Diane Lillibridge of Los Altos, said he is at “a very deployable base in Hawaii,” where he surfs.
Lillibridge, who turns 40 in April, has been in the military for about 18 years and has been told he will be redeployed to Iraq. His home is in Colorado Springs, Colo., and he has three children.
“It is strange to say this now,” Chris Lillibridge wrote in an e-mail to the Town Crier last week, “but I never understood how a man could have volunteered for successive tours in Vietnam. I do now. My current unit of assignment … is scheduled to go to Iraq sometime later this year. There is a part of me that wants to go. It has nothing to do with politics or what I think about the war.
“When I (first) left, I wanted to go clean up Iraq and come home. When I got to Iraq, I saw incredible poverty and oppression and a whole lot of fear. When we didn’t find the WMDs, I thought, what’s the difference? We’ve got to help these people.”
For more about Lillibridge’s experiences in the Middle East, see the story on Page 10.
