Best friends return from Iraq deployment
By DAVE PAYNE Sr., dpayne@newsandsentinel.comArticle Photos
VIENNA When you are a fighting in a war half a world away in a strange land, there is something indescribably special about having your best friend with you to lean on.
Childhood friends Raymond "Scooter" Meyers of Vienna and Zachary Whitlatch of Walker have been through a lot together over the years, but never has their friendship been so vital as during their recently completed tour in Iraq.
The men, both specialists in the Summersville-based West Virginia Army National Guard's 821st Engineer Battalion, returned home Sunday after a year-long deployment.
"I keep saying this," Meyers said, "but I can't express in words just how outstanding it was to be deployed with your best friend. I can not express how honored I was to serve with him."
Whitlatch feels the same way.
"It was awesome, just awesome. It was a really good feeling to have somebody there I could have trust in and he's a really great guy to work with," he said.
In Iraq, they worked together to keep other troops safe and they earned Bronze Stars together.
Meyers and Whitlatch were among six soldiers awarded the Bronze Star for their efforts to construct 130,000 square feet of rocket-propelled grenade fencing and 1,200 feet of screen to block enemy snipers' visibility. The screen reached heights of 40 feet to protect those working at Joint Security Station Ur in the Sadr City district of Baghdad.
"Do you realize what they did," Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond said in the April Bronze Star ceremony. "They put up this screen under fire, day and night, and under terrible conditions. You have something to talk about a couple of years from now."
According to an Army press release, the job took only 13 days to complete, despite setbacks caused by high winds and enemy small-arms fire as they worked suspended at heights up to 40 feet in the air.
The men also kept roads clear from trash, roadkill and other debris that insurgents could use to hide improvised explosive devices, Meyers said.
"If there's trash and debris on the road, they can use that to hide IEDs. They can hide those with anything, a dead dog, cat or other debris, so we cleared that from the roads to keep our troops safe," he said.
Now that the men are home, Whitlatch hopes to join the electricians' union. Meyers, a fourth-generation Vienna volunteer firefighter, plans to pursue a firefighting career.
The men worked long hours with little time off.
"We didn't go over there to have down time," Meyers said.
But when there was a little precious free time, they passed it speaking with their families back home, throwing baseballs back and forth or an impromptu wrestling match.
"We just sit around and talk about things," Whitlatch said, "do stuff to pass the time just hang out and rest. We really don't get a day off, we're always working. One day me and Raymond were taking a water tank on a mission. The water spilled on the ground. We started wrestling in that water. I didn't want to do it at first because I had things in my pockets, but I took that stuff out and jumped in."
The men said deployed soldiers enjoy receiving care packages from home. Especially valuable are letters and phone cards, but items such as candy, beef jerky and crossword puzzles are appreciated as well.
"Baby wipes are always good," Whitlatch said, "because you're out working and can't get a shower a lot of times. We also like to get snacks, because when you go out, you like to load up on snacks. If people send snacks, then you don't have to spend so much money to get them."
|
butterfly1955
|
|
|---|---|
|
07-14-08 12:47 PM
|
Good Job Scooter!!! We are proud of you and your friend for the job you did for our country. Thanks is never enough. Glad you all are safe at home. God Bless you and your friend and families. Janet Russell
|