Posted on: Saturday, March 26, 2005
411th reservists showed they 'get the job done'
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD — After the returning 411th Engineer Battalion got a collective cheer that practically shook the rafters, Pfc. Vinson Comilang was greeted by the female side of his family with shrieks of joy that had about the same volume as a police siren.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser "It's good," Comilang said. "Been away from the state for so long, I don't know how to react."
The 625 Army reservists, including about 385 from Hawai'i, worked on medical centers, churches, office space and the base post office at Camp Victory North in Baghdad.
They convoyed more than 300 times, and became known as the 1st Cavalry Division's "911" engineering battalion, said commander Lt. Col. Jonathan Wung.
"We proved that we could get the job done," Wung said.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser Their service in Iraq came at a price.
Two soldiers, Staff Sgt. Juanita Wilson and Sgt. Aaron Carvalho, were seriously wounded by a roadside bomb last August near Baghdad.
Wilson lost her left hand and is at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., adjusting to a range of prosthetic hands, including one designed to grip a golf club. Carvalho's thigh was ripped open.
Four other Purple Hearts also were awarded.
Comilang said he feels good about his time in Iraq.
"Knowing I gave up a year of my life for this country was well worth it," said the 2002 Youth Challenge Academy graduate.
Spc. Joshua Devera, 22, from 'Ewa Beach, said there were "a lot of good times, lot of bad times."
Among the good: "Hanging with my platoon." And the bad: "Missing home and missing your family."
Comilang and Devera both said they're staying in the Reserves.
"It wouldn't matter (if I deployed again), as long as I'm with the same people," Devera said.
Nathaniel Cox, 10, waited for his dad, Chief Warrant Officer Brian Cox, 39, a data center manager in civilian life.
The youngster said he missed "seeing his (dad's) face and hearing his voice."
"It's really exciting and it's nerve-wracking to know that he's going to be here after all this time," he said.
Janet Tumacder waited with her 7-month-old daughter, Kristale, for her husband, Staff Sgt. Marcial Tumacder, 38.
He was able to be in Hawai'i for his daughter's birth. He left when his daughter was a newborn, and she now says "mama" and "dada."
Janet Tumacder, who lives in 'Aiea, said the hardest part was being alone with her two children.
"I was pregnant when he was in Iraq," she said.
About 40 of the 411th reservists are from Alaska, 40 are from American Samoa and 100 were drawn from 26 other states.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
His mom, sister, brother, two nephews and a niece were in the big hangar at Wheeler last night to welcome home the 20-year-old Wahiawa man from a year of duty in Iraq.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Galen Egdamin of the 411th Engineer Battalion embraces family members upon his arrival at Wheeler Army Airfield. Egdamin was among 625 soldiers to return from Iraq yesterday.
One flight of 411th Engineer soldiers came in yesterday morning. The later group was reunited with families at 7:30 p.m.
Sgt. Christopher Texeira chats with his 2-year-old son Blaize after returning home from Iraq. The reservists worked on medical centers, churches and the post office at Camp Victory North in Baghdad.
