By NANCY HILER
Gillen's family and many others were among the crowd of about 2,000 at the homecoming. The troops arrived by bus at the military base on Stewart Avenue at about 7 p.m.
"We're proud of him," said Kevin’s father, Jim Gillen, of Linden Street in Bellmore. He expressed relief that his son was home safe, explaining that Kevin had been on border patrol duty in a small Iraqi town on the Syrian border. Gillen was also greeted by his mother, Pat, his brother, Michael, 25, and his sister, Hilary, 20. Family friends as well as members of the Bellmore Fire Department, where Gillen is a volunteer firefighter, were also on hand to welcome him home.
Gillen was one of three returning Marines from Bellmore, along with Frank Cinturati, 22, and David Grace, 23.
The returning troops are members of the Headquarters & Service Company and Weapons Company, which were in Iraq for seven months, involved in counterinsurgency missions in the Anbar province. The units also prepared Iraqi soldiers for combat.
Gillen’s family was not surprised when he enlisted as a Marine Reservist three years ago, his father said. As evidenced by his work with the fire department, Jim said, he is not one to shy away from putting himself in harm's way.
Gillen and his fellow battalion members left for training in California last Memorial Day and, ironically, shipped out to Iraq last Sept. 11, the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks, a major reason many of the troops enlisted in the first place.
"His battalion has been activated to go to Iraq every three years," his father explained. This was Gillen's first tour of duty, but his father said he expects Kevin to remain in the reserves, and would not be surprised to see him return to active duty if called again.
Comments? NHiler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.
