Local firefighter ready to serve his country

Allentown Firefighter Paul Steelman leaves for military training this weekend.

By: Marisa Maldonado
   ALLENTOWN — Paul Steelman’s four years with the Hope Fire Company in Allentown have given him some good memories — and fighting a brush fire gave him a special nickname, "Pigpen."
   "He came out (of a brush fire) covered from head to toe in mud," said Brian Crane, another firefighter at the company.
   His fellow firefighters hope his gentle, outgoing nature will bring Mr. Steelman home safely from Iraq, where he will serve as Sgt. Steelman with other members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, 28th Division, 55th Brigade. He leaves Saturday for five months of training in Mississippi, after which he will travel to Iraq.
   The fire company paid for a party last Saturday in honor of Mr. Steelman, who has served with the company since the events of Sept. 11 inspired him to get involved. The company offered to cover the costs after his family started planning the party.
   "My family was very touched by that, and so was I," said the 35-year-old Trenton resident. "The flag was the icing on the cake."
   The company will fly an Army flag in front of the firehouse until Mr. Steelman returns from his tour of duty. And even though he won’t ride one of the firetrucks of Hope Fire Company in Allentown for quite some time, his black helmet will sit on one of the firetrucks until he returns.
   Mr. Steelman, who has served in the National Guard for five years, didn’t see going abroad in his plans when he joined the Guard in 2000. But he feels a responsibility to serve as his "forefathers" did in Vietnam and Korea.
   Mr. Steelman served in the Marine Corps in the early 1990s and said he missed the "camaraderie and Army lifestyle." So he joined the Army Guard, but suspected that his work would focus more on protecting the states than wartime.
   Just as Sept. 11 inspired him to go into firefighting, the changing world climate led him to think that his unit might go to Afghanistan. His unit did go somewhere — but not to the Middle East.
   Instead they served seven months on a base in Germany from 2002-03 and saw many other units go through there to Iraq. "Part of me was champing at the bit to further do my part," Mr. Steelman said.
   Even though he has supported the government’s decision to invade Iraq from day one, he encountered strong anti-American sentiment in Germany as war preparations accelerated and German officials denounced the pending military occupation.
   "We were never harassed or bothered, but the climate was starting to swing," Mr. Steelman said. "The German people were not happy with America."
   Whatever Mr. Steelman does, he thinks his work will include more than the violence that has permeated most American newspapers and television broadcasts. He said he has heard from many returned soldiers that the media does not focus on enough of the positive aspects of the American occupation, such as the construction of new schools.
   But he does think showing the violence in Iraq is necessary and thinks that the country must continue serving in Iraq in tribute to the soldiers whose lives have been claimed by it. "If we pulled out with no resolve there, it would be against all the soldiers who have been killed," Mr. Steelman said.
   Mr. Steelman will be involved with mostly convoy security while he is in Iraq.
   "And, if need be, raid any houses or things like that," he added.
   His unit most likely will be divided into different platoons once they get to Iraq, but Mr. Steelman said he is happy they will be going together to Mississippi for training after spending time together in Germany.
   "We feel a lot better because we’ve already developed a bond together," he said.
   Of course Mr. Steelman will miss his parents, three sisters and fiancée — but he jokes with his family and tries to keep the mood light as he prepares to leave.
   "I made them a shallow promise that I will return, that (a tragedy) won’t happen to them," he said. "You just try to squash your fears as much as you can."