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RIVERDALE/POMPTON LAKES - Local soldiers in Gulf conflicts
(by Leslie Scott - Staff Writer - May 25, 2008)
RIVERDALE/POMPTON LAKES - With the upcoming presidential election, Democratic and Republican candidates alike are offering different plans for withdrawing American troops from Iraq.
Sons and daughters continue to enlist in the US armed services even after years of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and after the loss of more than 4,000 men and women.
All of these soldiers have their own reasons for joining the armed services, and they all have their own stories to tell about their experiences in war-torn countries and how they feel these conflicts should be concluded.
Roberto Oquendo, 23, of Pompton Lakes served in Iraq from September 2007 to March 2008. While overseas, he said he stayed on base most of the time and served as air base security.
Billy Schall, 22, of Pompton Lakes left for Iraq in December 2007 and is expected to return June 2, his mother Mary said.
While serving, Billy was twice named a Tuskegee Airman of the Week for successfully completing missions that led to the capture of key insurgents.
Mary said that Billy would have to gather information from informants to help capture the insurgents and complete these missions.
“He was the lead driver for five missions outside of the wire, enabling the collection of key intelligence by securing human intelligence meetings where four high-value individuals were captured,” Mary said.
Ryan Schumacher, 20, of Pompton Lakes has been in Iraq since October 2007. He also is expected home in June.
While stationed overseas, Ryan had several responsibilities.
“He leads patrols. He is stationed at checkpoints, and he is training the Iraqi police to take control over their own areas,” said Ryan’s mother Dyann.
Bryan Ball, 37, of Riverdale was recently awarded a combat action badge. He has served in Iraq since Nov. 2007 and is expected home in June for an 18-day stay before returning overseas.
Bryan’s father Russ said his son is with the munitions experts.
“I guess when they need him they get him and they blow stuff up or go after people that need to get taken out,” Russ said.
Derek Clark, 37, of Pompton Lakes served in Iraq in the earlier part of the invasion. During the first half of his enlistment, he said he guarded a detention center and patrolled certain sectors of the city.
During the second half of his deployment, he assisted in many raids and aided in the recovery of many artifacts stolen from the museum.
“We located a lot of the top 35 (missing artifacts) list. A lot of them were priceless. We recovered the Mask of Warka and we recovered a bronze statue. It was a waist-down bust of a child, and that was number three on the list. We recovered a chariot and a sword. We got about 20 items. A lot of them were in the top 10,” said Clark.
Eric Hollenstein, 24, of Pompton Lakes served in Iraq from March 2006 to October 2006.
“I was doing foot patrols, mobile patrols, raids on houses, and going door to door looking for insurgents,” Hollenstein said.
Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton as well as presumptive Republican nominee John McCain have offered different plans for withdrawing from Iraq.
“If they withdraw, there is obviously a reason for them doing it. We did our job over there training the Iraqi police. If we withdraw, we are going to do it for the right reasons and not because of pressure,” said Hollenstein.
“A slow withdrawal is nice. Some people have to come home eventually to their family and friends.
So that is always a good idea. McCain doesn’t have a plan for that. I’m probably more for bringing people back home just because it is a long time to be away from your friends and family,” said Oquendo.
Dyann said Ryan doesn’t talk much about politics or his reasons for being in Iraq.
“What he speaks of is his dedication to being a Marine and representing the United States well,” she said.
Dyann said she doesn’t want her son over there but she supports his decision.
“I think it’s amazing that young men are willing to sacrifice so much, but when it is your child, that changes. But he’s been so motivated, he does whatever they ask him to do and he does it well,” Dyann said.
Russ, whose son Bryan Ball is serving, said the government has too much invested in Iraq to withdraw in six or three months.
“I don’t think you can pull out of there entirely, but I would love to see a reduction. I don’t see them resolving that situation there in the next few years. I think what you would do is set up a base command and rotate people in and out and still show a presence and you just try to help as much as you can,” said Russ.
Mary said Billy believes the United States should not withdraw at this time because if it did, the insurgents would increase their activities.
“We would probably leave them worse off than when we went in,” Clark, a Pompton Lakes resident serving in Iraq, also agreed.
“If you talk to a lot of soldiers, they would tell you they want to go back home, but they would not want to see all of their work go to waste. My personal opinion is that if they leave now, they basically would be left in chaos,” Clark said.
“We helped train the Iraqi police and we helped train the army over there. They were starting to take over and do good things and I’m sure, right now, with me being home two years later, they accomplished more than when I was there so far,” said Hollenstein.
Ryan is seeing progress, Dyann said.
“His squad and another squad, they were able to train the Iraqis and shut down US operations in that area,” Dyann said.
“The whole thing with my son is he feels they are making a difference. He says, ‘Don’t listen to everything you hear on the news,’” Mary said.
The Iraqi children love to see the soldiers, Dyann said.
“The children are always swarming when they go out on patrols. One of them even told him (Ryan) he wanted to be a Marine when he grew up,” Dyann said.
Russ said his son believes once everything has calmed down, Iraq will be a great place.
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