IBEW Local 81(Scranton) Member off with the 365th Engineer Battalion to Iraq

01/03/2005
More local soldiers leave for duty
By Robert L. Baker and Josh Brodesky TIMES-SHAMROCK NEWS WRITERS

Seventy-five area soldiers with the 365th Engineer Battalion's electrical unit were treated to a Sunday brunch with their families before shipping out on the first leg of what will become a tour of duty in Iraq.
The soldiers left their Colfax Avenue headquarters before noon, bound for 45 days of training at Fort Dix, N.J.

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Another 141 soldiers from the Army Reserve unit had already shipped out for training at Fort Benning, Ga., after Thanksgiving. The second group received its orders before Thanksgiving, and some troops expected to ship out before Christmas, but the Army allowed them to celebrate the holidays at home.

Despite the extra time together, the troops and their families said Sunday's goodbye came too soon.

Sandra Swartz and her 28-year-old husband, Spc. Kenneth Swartz, of Jermyn, spent the first part of last week in Atlantic City on what she called a "mini-anniversary."

The couple only married in May, and the two will be apart for their first anniversary. The two spent the latter part of the week with Spc. Swartz's grandparents in New York. Both grandparents are in fragile health, and she said her husband wanted to see them before he shipped out.

"I'm proud of him," she said. "I still am a patriotic person. I am all for the country. I just think this war didn't need to happen. It's really hard for the family."

Mrs. Swartz said her hus- band's eight-year contract with the military was set to expire on Jan. 17.

"It was pretty emotional," she said of Sunday's goodbye. "It was just rough."

Staff Sgt. Donald Zimmerman, of Dallas, expressed similar sentiments about leaving his family.

He will be leaving his wife Heather and his two sons, ages 4 and 11, behind.

"I'm not really happy about leaving my wife and kids for so long," Sgt. Zimmerman said.

Mrs. Zimmerman said while their youngest son, Klay, does not understand why his father is leaving, her 11-year-old, Karl, has let it be known "that he is going to be the man of the house until Dad comes back."

It was a teary-eyed morning for MaryAnn Barni of Lake Winola, who tried to hold off the moment of seeing her 25-year-old son Pfc. Bruce Gerstemier leave.

She and her husband, Richard Barni, recently returned from seeing her son finish boot camp at Fort Knox, Ky. Pfc. Gerstemier is a 1998 graduate of Tunkhannock Area High School and an electrician with the IBEW Local 81.

"I'm definitely very proud of him serving our country, but this is tough," she said.

The brunch was sponsored by the Support the Troops of Northeastern Pennsylvania, headed by Dawn Rogers of Tunkhannock.

Ms. Rogers, who has two sons in the service, said the brunch was meant to help support the families whose lives are disrupted. She said when her oldest son shipped out for Iraq -- he has since returned and is stationed in Kentucky -- she was alone and found it to be unbearable.

"I totally lost it," she said. "You didn't have anyone else that understood what you were going through."

Ms. Rogers said the group, which has about 500 members, will hold a catered supper for the families of all of the region's soldiers on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. at the Clarks Summit VFW Post 7069. She said it would be good to see all of the families, and also she invited anyone who would like to show their support for the troops to attend. She said family members of the troops can call her at any time at either 836-1098 or 470-8391 for support.

"Your soldiers that are deployed are much more comfortable knowing that someone is looking out for them," she said.