Posted on 07/05/2005 3:51:47 PM PDT by SandRat
Army Reservists assigned to the 101st Cavalry, 42nd Infantry Division were tasked with clean-up and security details at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001; they now serve in Iraq.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE BERNSTEIN, Iraq, July 5, 2005 — He bounced out of the gunner’s hatch of his armored humvee, removed his helmet to assess the desert landscape of Forward Operating Base Bernstein, Iraq, and made his observation.
“Man, I would love to plant some tomatoes out here,” said U.S. Army Spc. James Letohic, scout, 42nd Infantry Division command group personal security detail. “They’d get as big as basketballs!”
Six months ago, Letohic was back on Staten Island preparing his garden, his personal affects and himself for his deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, but for Letohic and the rest of his teammates from New York City, the war began long before they set foot on desert sand. Their reserve unit, 101st Cavalry, 42 Infantry Division, was tasked with clean-up and security details at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
"The thing that killed me the most was seeing a kid’s teddy bear. I have two little girls. You know that had to belong to someone," U.S. Army Spc. Gary Gaudioso
“It wasn’t New York City that day,” said Spc. Gary Gaudioso, tanker, 42nd Infantry Division command group personal security detail. “I was standing there looking around and I said, ‘This is hell.’”
On Sept. 11, 2001, the reservists were starting another workday at their respective civilian jobs in the tri-state area. As soon as they saw the footage on the news, each of them jumped in his car and headed to unit headquarters.
“My boss gave me a hard time,” Letohic said of leaving work early that day. “I didn’t care. I knew I was needed.”
Most of the unit’s soldiers were at the headquarters before an official recall was sent through the contact roster.
New Yorkers worked together, regardless of their background or affiliation, in order to clean up the wreckage.
“I saw a guy with his gang colors out, and I asked him about it,” Gaudioso, a New York City lifeguard, said. “He took his flag and put it away and said, ‘We’re all brothers here.’”
Those who weren’t able to join the clean up crew helped in any way they could.
“This one guy tried to give me money, saying, ‘Here, go get some lunch on me,’ but I couldn’t take the cash on the job,” Letohic said. “So this guy went over to the Chinese restaurant across the street and gave the guy in there 75 bucks and said, ‘Feed those guys.’”
Other neighbors brought sodas, plates of homemade cookies and even bags of dog food for the volunteers and their search dogs. Letohic said the streets were lined with donated items.
“Everyone who was there that day helped the best they could,” Letohic said.
The danger didn’t end when the towers fell. The wreckage landed in precarious positions, threatening to crumble at any moment.
“They’d run the sirens, thinking a building was going to fall,” Gaudioso said. “You’d have to drop whatever you were doing and run.”
The soldiers endured long hours, muscle-wrenching labor and dangerous situations. The most difficult job was finding proof of life that ended in the rubble.
“The thing that killed me the most was seeing a kid’s teddy bear,” Gaudioso said. “I have two little girls. You know that had to belong to someone.”
Whenever human remains were found, the soldiers stopped what they were doing and paid respect to those who lost their lives.
“We’d all stand at attention when they brought the coffin or the litter out,” Letohic said. “You couldn’t see what was on there; you didn’t want to see.”
People who lived near the towers were not allowed to go back to their homes for two weeks. Once it was safe for them to return, Gaudioso escorted people into their apartments.
“Walking people up there and seeing them break down because their cat or dog was lying there dead and their whole apartment was covered in white soot…” he said, unable to finish his sentence for the emotions the thought still evoked.
When U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001, Letohic was chomping at the bit to go with them.
“When Afghanistan jumped off, I thought, ‘God, what am I doing here?’” he said. “A soldier never wants a war, but if there’s a war, he wants to be there.”
As 42nd Infantry Division prepared to deploy to Iraq last winter, many of their firemen and policemen friends wanted to go with them.
“I remember firemen saying to me, ‘Can we trade uniforms?’” Letohic said.
Instead, they passed on the torch.
“I remember the cartoon where they showed the fireman handing the American flag to the soldier,” Gaudioso said. “The soldier was saying, ‘We’ll take it from here.’ There’s no way you didn’t want to be [in Iraq].”
Letohic and Gaudioso are proud to serve their country and represent their city in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The city has shown its pride in them as well.
“They’ve got the 42nd (Infantry Division) flag hanging in Yankee Stadium,” Gaudioso said.
Several of Letohic’s friends were killed in the Sept. 11 attack. He carries with him the photos of Gary Geidel, a fireman with Rescue 1 Staten Island, and Paul Beyer, a fireman with Engine 6 Staten Island. He also wears a World Trade Towers pin in memory of his friend Pat Byrne, a fireman with Ladder Company 101 Brooklyn, on the button placket of his uniform blouse. He keeps them with him everywhere he goes in Iraq as a reminder of why he serves.
“I knew these guys; I knew their kids, their families,” Letohic said. “It still really gets to me.”
Letohic and Gaudioso travel in convoys throughout Iraq with 42nd Infantry Division sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Fearnsides. The work is exhausting in the hot, dusty desert, but their focus never waivers.
“Sure we miss home, but when you think of the guys in World War I and II when they did a long tour of three, four or five years, we can’t complain,” Letohic said. “I mean, we’re lucky. We have showers and hot food. I mean, come on.”
After seeing the effects of terrorism on their hometown, the men of 42nd Infantry Division command group personal security detail are honored to defend their country in any way they can, no matter how small the detail might seem.
“I wish I could do more,” Letohic said. “We’re one little grain of sand on the whole beach.”
great post-ping
Thanks for the ping!
BTTT!!!!!!!
Home of 2nd squadron, 278th Regimental Combat Team (CAV), Tennessee Army National Guard (OPCON to 42nd ID for OIF III).
Powerful story ~ Heroes ~ Bump!
Bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.