to active duty in January
Families greet reservists who were called up
to active duty in January
By Sherry conohan
Staff Writer
SHERRY CONOHAN Marines from the 6th Motor Transport Battalion, most of them reservists, march smartly Sunday to the community center at Fort Monmouth, Eatontown, to see their families and friends. The Marine Corps unit, which drills in Red Bank, was called to active duty Jan. 14 and has served in Kuwait and Iraq.
FORT MONMOUTH — With flags, balloons and red roses, families of the Marine reserves from the 6th Motor Transport Battalion, based in Red Bank, welcomed their loved ones home from the Persian Gulf on Sunday. For the last six months, the battalion has been serving in Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A loud cheer went up from the families gathered at the Fort Monmouth Community Center, as the buses carrying the returning Marines entered the compound area where they were waiting.
A large "Welcome Back Sgt. Anibal Santos" sign was held overhead by members of his family.
Waiting to greet him were his wife, Wendy; their son, Omar, 2; his father, Anibal Santos Sr.; and his uncle Willie Rodriguez, all of Trenton.
SHERRY CONOHAN A family of a Marine waits eagerly at Fort Monmouth in Eatontown on Sunday for their loved one.
Wendy said waiting for her husband’s return since the unit was activated on Jan. 14 and went overseas in February had been tough.
"This is our third deployment, and it’s the worst," she said.
The large extended family of Jesus Perez left no doubt as to whom they had come to welcome home.
All were sporting white T-shirts emblazoned with a photo of Perez in his dress uniform, making them unmistakable in the crowd.
SHERRY CONOHAN Staff Sgt. Robert Lusczek, who lives at Camp Charles Wood, Eatontown, received a warm welcome from his wife, Teresa, and sons, Jacob (l), 11, and Kaleb, 8.
The buses passed by the assemblage to discharge their passengers on the other side of a parade field. The Marines, dressed in light sand desert camouflage uniforms and combat boots, then marched in perfect cadence back to where their families eagerly awaited them.
Lt. Col. Gene Sole said the approximately 170 marines from the Headquarters and Service Company of the 6th Motor Transport, 4th Force Service Support Group, were fortunate to have suffered no casualties during the assignment in Iraq.
"There were some bumps and bruises, but nothing serious," he said.
Sole said the Marines, most of them reserves with some active duty officers mixed in, had flown all night from Camp Pendleton, Calif., to get home.
"I’m sure they were running on adrenaline," he said of the Marines’ arrival. "But I don’t think they minded."
"We’re really proud of them," he added. "They performed in an exemplary manner in support of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force."
Teresa Lusczek, wife of Staff Sgt. Robert Lusczek, was there with their sons — Kaleb, 8, and Jacob, 11, who was sporting a mohawk died red, white and blue from top to bottom.
The family lives at adjacent Camp Charles Wood.
Capt. Kevin Wojcicki, of Brick, was reunited with his wife, Ronda, and 6-month-old baby, Shane.
Ronda said Shane was four weeks old when her husband went off to the Gulf.
Asked how the boy looked to him, Wojcicki smiled and said "a lot older."
"He looks great, though," he added, as he held the baby in his arms.
Lance Cpl. Adam Sosnowski was hugged tightly by his father, Larry, his mother, Karen, and brother, Eric, all of Howell, as soon as they could reach him.
His dad was reluctant to let go.
Sgt. George Sasso of Edison was enjoying getting reacquainted with his wife, Kristine, and three sons — Jacob, 7, Michael, 5, and Steven, 21/2.
Waiting for Cpl. Mike Zazzarino were his girlfriend, Kim Evernham, of Middletown; his mother Kathy Zazzarino, of Keansburg; and his mother’s fiancé, Mike Kuyl.
Evernham said it had been tough to be separated and that she had been "very" worried about him.
"He wrote me every day," she said. "And he got to call me."
"That was more toward the end," noted Zazzarino.
Cpl. Jose Rosado, of Perth Amboy, said the unit worked its way up through Iraq from Kuwait, to within 50 miles of Baghdad.
He said they actually got a little closer at one point, but didn’t stay there.
The unit was transporting personnel and supplies through the combat zone, he said.
Asked how difficult it was during the fighting going on around them, he said he only thought of the job at hand.