By: Christopher Collora and Beth Wallach
An engineer in civilian life, Casazza, a married father of two, was sent to Afghanistan in July 2004. Reflecting on his tour of duty there, Casazza said, "It's not here, that's for sure. It's a third-world country with no water systems, they're still using wells, and [there is] scarce electricity." He found the people to be very friendly, however, "and appreciative of our help," he said.
After being stationed in Kabul, the capital, for a month and a half, Casazza was sent to Herat, where he remained for four months. He was assigned to help construct new military bases for the Afghan National Army, including a base in Darulaman, near Kabul, which was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to his most recent deployment, Casazza served in Germany and Panama, but never in a combat zone.
While most Americans remember news reports of violent skirmishes during the early days of the war in Afghanistan, which began in October 2001, Casazza said that things have settled down considerably since then. "The people are not as willing to blow themselves up like the Iraqis," he said. "When I was there, there were only a few rocket attacks in July, a car bomb and an attack on a United Nations facility, but no one was shooting at me directly." He found people more focused on building their country's future, and said they were "seriously embracing democracy."
Arriving back at home on Dec. 11, just in time for the holidays, Casazza returned to his job at the Maracap Construction Company in Queens. Though he had experience with building bridges before being shipped overseas, the Afghan projects were on a scale that challenged his skills. Casazza had to de-mine fields that were planted by Soviet Union troops when they were at war with Afghanistan in the 1980s, and supervise the engineers building the bases, work that had to be done precisely according to plans. Pleased with the outcome, he said, "The contractors and engineers all did great jobs."
An Army reservist for 20 years, Casazza, a native of Sunnyside, Queens, and a Villanova graduate, said he had missed his wife, Donna, and two children, Paul, 12, and Theresa, 9. Aside from his family, whom he communicated with daily via satellite phones and e-mail, he missed not having fresh salads.
"I've gained a deeper appreciation for everything we have here," said Casazza, "I appreciate my family more. We have a lot to be thankful for, living in a free country with infrastructure, water and electricity."
Although his family was never far from his thoughts, Casazza made friends with many of the locals, communicating with them through a translator named Massoud. He described all the people he came in contact with as dedicated to the cause the U.S. has undertaken in their country.
One of the images Casazza recalled was seeing young Afghani children flying kites, a national pastime that was forbidden under Taliban rule. With historic elections held recently, he thinks the sky will eventually be the limit for those children, and that in 10 years, Afghanistan will be a major positive contributor to the world community. "It's a good feeling to know we've helped them," Casazza said. "We've helped them build the foundations of their new society, and given them the tools to build their own future."
Photos courtesy Paul Casazza
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