By Angela Marshall
Captain Christopher V. Meyers
Captain Christopher V. Meyers may not be in the heart of the battle, but his father maintains that the work he is doing is just as important. Meyers, an inspector-instructor with the Marines' 4th Tank Battalion, stationed in San Diego, knows his father is right, but still wants to be in Iraq.
"It is not logical, but I wish I was there," he wrote in a e-mail to the Herald. "Not because I want to fire my tank at an enemy but because my family and peers are there. I feel as if I should be chewing the same dirt as them and I should be watching their backs. I know that if I was over there, I would be wishing I was back in San Diego. It's a very confusing time."
Meyers, 28, a tank officer by trade, is currently assigned to train the reserve headquarters and service company commander in how to command a company and effectively train it in a short amount of time. Meyers is also in charge of training the battalion logistics officer in how to support a tank battalion in the field and how to be "the conductor of the symphony of vehicles" it takes to support the tanks. The symphony includes approximately 300 Marines in 100 vehicles.
Meyers, who joined up in 1996, said there are two main reasons for his decision to become a Marine. "The first is that my father believes that many of his successes in life are attributed to the time he spent in the United States Marine Corps," he said. "The second is that the dean of students at Villanova was trying to decide whether or not to keep me in school for disciplinary reasons and I was looking for a back-up vocation if 'student' didn't work out. Either way, it was a great decision."
Meyers is the son of Vinnie and Janice Meyers of Rockville Centre. His father served with the Marines during the Vietnam War.
Meyers attended St. Agnes Cathedral School and Chaminade High School before Villanova. He and his wife, Heather, were married last year.
After almost seven years, Meyers said he isn't sure if the corps will be his career or not, but said he will stay until it stops being fun. "There is bureaucracy wherever you go in this world, whether it be the military, teaching in a school, or Wall Street, but the opportunity to lead men and women in challenging missions is rare."
Meyers call war "a horrible undertaking that will probably always exit." He said that whether or not people believe that this is a just war, they should "believe in those brave men and women fighting for our causeÉ"
When asked whether there are plans to deploy his company, Meyers said, "You'll have to ask the secretary of defense on that. I'm just going to continue to train."
Seaman Gregory M. Detwiller
Seaman Gregory M. Detwiller joined the Navy last August, before talk of war began in earnest. He finished basic training and a stint of additional training before coming home to spend Christmas with his family in Rockville Centre. Detwiller thought he would be stationed in Norfolk, Va., when he returned from the break in January, according to his father, Greg. But Detwiller called his father soon after he arrived in Norfolk to say, "Dad, my ship's been deployed."
Detwiller had to fly out to meet the aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and experienced firsthand how important his job on the carrier would be. He launches and recovers jet aircraft on the flight deck.
The carrier is now somewhere in the Red Sea.
"I'm very proud of him and the job that he's doing --all of them, everybody from Rockville Centre, everybody from the country that's over there," said the senior Detwiller, who was in the Army Reserves for 24 years. "I'm extremely proud of the job that they're doing."
Detwiller, a 1998 South Side High School graduate, saw joining the Navy as a career opportunity and a way to see the world.
During the short time that his son has been in the service, the senior Detwiller said he has already seen changes in him. "I think he has learned a lot," Gregory's father said. Explaining that it's a great way to learn teamwork and to learn about yourself, he feels that everyone should have to go into one form of the service.
Detwiller keeps in contact with his family through e-mail, writing every couple of days. His father said his heart goes out to the families of those serving in Iraq who have no way to contact their loved ones.
Dr. Lee E. Friedman
CeCe Friedman thinks her son is in Iraq south of Nasiriya, but she isn't sure. The family hasn't heard from him since March 24, the last time he called his wife.
"Who knows where he is now? It's two weeks later," Mrs. Friedman said.
Lee E. Friedman, a Navy surgeon, was deployed to the Persian Gulf with the Marine Wing Support Squadron 373 earlier this year.
After graduating from Yale, Friedman applied for and received a Navy medical scholarship to Jefferson Medical School. He completed a one-year internship, and was serving a general medical officer tour of duty as a flight surgeon at Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego when his company was deployed.
Mrs. Friedman said that knowing her son is in Iraq is worrisome and stressful. But she is also "very supportive of what he's doing and what the troops are doing."
Friedman's wife, Kelly, is also a doctor at Balboa. They have a daughter, Aurelia. "She just celebrated her first birthday, which he missed, but he's making the world a safer place for her and all the other children," Friedman's mother said.
Friedman's own birthday is next month. He'll be 29. His mom hopes he's home to celebrate, but she knows he might not be.
In order to deal with the stress, Mrs. Friedman keeps to her normal routine and tries not to watch too much news of the war. "You want to watch, but you don't want to watch," she said.
The Friedmans are grateful for the support they are receiving from family and friends.
