Mitchell Ege spent his first few days home helping out his fellow firemen volunteers during the flooding in Lambertville.
By: Linda Seida
LAMBERTVILLE After a 13-month tour of duty in Iraq, soldiering in war zones like Kirkuk, Mitchell Ege has finally come home.
Spc. Ege, a graduate of South Hunterdon Regional High School, is in the Army Reserves. He served in Iraq with the 854th Engineering Battalion.
Despite traveling all those miles and the many months away, despite the foreign way of life he observed and the rules and regulations he’s had to live by, in some ways he’s the same young man who left last year.
In others, he’s forever changed.
And some things about being back in America again take a little getting used to, but he and his family are handling these with love and good humor.
"Soldiers are not (allowed) to drive when they return because, in Iraq, they don’t have stop signs, traffic signals or speed limits," said his mother, Cynthia Ege. "Soldiers are told to get in their vehicle and drive as fast as they can go so they safely get to their destination. The soldiers returning have had a difficult time reorienting themselves with the rules of the road. When he’s in the car with us, and he sees a package or garbage bag at the side of the road, I see him flinch because in Iraq roadside bombs are a frequent thing. His eyes are always searching the side of the road."
Getting used to other things isn’t quite so difficult.
When he disembarked from his plane at McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County April 29, Spc. Ege, 20, wrapped his arms around fiancée Melissa Parsons just as tightly as he did when he said goodbye at the start of his journey last year. Maybe tighter.
"When he got off the bus, she ran into his arms, and I began to cry," said Mrs. Ege, who is a city councilwoman. "They’ve missed each other so much, and it was great to see them together again."
He looks different. There’s now a moustache on his upper lip, and he’s lost weight. He’s trimmer by at least 3 inches around the waist, and none of his old clothes fit him anymore.
But some things never change. His still loves beef barbecue. And the comforts of home are still hard to resist.
Without hesitation, the thing he said he missed the most while in Iraq was "a nice hot shower!"
Being home again "feels great, it really does," Spc. Ege said in a phone interview via his mother’s cell phone during his ride home last week. "No more mortars, no more gunfire, no more RPGs (rocket propelled grenades). Just being able to see everybody and not be in Iraq."
Because he’s lost weight, a trip to a clothing store is in order. Bu it had to wait when more pressing business required his attention.
The Army reservist last weekend was battling the swollen Delaware River and its overflowing banks.
He grabbed some clothes he hoped would stay up around his waist and headed out with the town’s emergency workers, including those from the Union Fire Company, which he plans to rejoin now he’s home.
The Union hadn’t forgotten him, either. Last week, the company stationed its trucks on Route 29, across from the Laceworks. Their red lights flashed in welcome as Spc. Ege and his family entered the city.
"He was speechless, and I cried again," Mrs. Ege said. "He and Melissa got out of our car and road the firetruck to the Union firehouse."
Mrs. Ege continued, "When back at the station, Ron Siwy, Robert "Peachy" Hayes, Amanda Knechel, Glen Miller and Greg Siwy shook his hand and welcomed him home. Jim and Barbara Siuta gave us a welcome home flag. We placed it at the Union firehouse with homemade signs welcoming him home. Our house also has a sign, and I made one to hold for when he got off the bus. It read, ‘Welcome Home Spc. Ege, my son, my hero! We’re proud of you.’"
The swell of pride and the rush of love were made all the sweeter by an initial scare.
Mrs. Ege said, "When the first load of soldiers came off the bus, and Mitchell wasn’t on it, I started to have a panic attack. Then one of the higher-ups stated that five soldiers were on baggage duty. I was a little relieved, but the 30 minutes that passed seemed like an eternity.
"He came off the bus smiling, and I couldn’t help thinking how beautiful he was, and how wonderful it was to finally have him back with us."
The huge welcome home celebration planned for April 3 at Club Dix at the Fort Dix military base was scaled down because of the region’s flooding. Many family members couldn’t make it because of the emergency, according to Mrs. Ege.
She said her son is the same thoughtful and considerate young man he was when he left. Maybe a bit quieter and more mature, but still always wanting to help, especially the city he believes has given him so much.
While walking through Lambertville’s streets recently, he could hardly seem to go five paces without pausing to thank someone for a care package or letter sent to him in Iraq, little pieces of home that made the separation a bit more bearable.
The trip home from Iraq for Spc. Ege was a lot like an old saying about the Army, one that claims the military is a constant state of "hurry up and wait."
"The 854th was supposed to come home in February," Mrs. Ege said. "They had a mix-up with the paperwork, and they were told they would be home on March 19th. Then they were told sometime in April.
"On March 16th, they received news that they had two hours to pack up and board their flight from Kirkuk to Kuwait. They thought they would be home on Easter Sunday. In the interim, their equipment was misplaced in transit from Kirkuk to Kuwait."
Finally, the good news arrived.
Mrs. Ege said, "We received a phone call late Saturday evening, March 26, informing us that they would be home on Tuesday, March 29th, between 4 and 5 p.m. (Then) Tuesday, the 29th, at 7 a.m., Mitchell called us from Germany and said he would be home in eight hours. His plane arrived at McGuire Air Force Base at 4:30 p.m. They were bused to Fort Dix, where we were all waiting for them."
Due to the equipment snafu, not everyone made it home on the flight with Spc. Ege.
"It’s important to note that five soldiers from the 854th were left behind to handle the lost equipment when it finally reached them," Mrs. Ege said. "My heart goes out to their families."
Despite the months away, despite the danger and heartbreak, despite the late arrival home, recent days feel like a time of thanksgiving for the Ege family.
"In retrospect, this year has been very difficult, and I still wish it had never happened, but for our family and for Mitchell, it has brought some good," Mrs. Ege said. "We realize how important family is, and we don’t sweat the little things. Life is so very precious, and I hope the one thing we all keep with us is our appreciation and love for each other and for our community. Lambertville and the surrounding area has been very good to my son. We will always be grateful."

