By Nicole Falco
"You sit around wondering, so I stopped watching it," Cathy said.
About a month passed before Cathy heard from her son. In that month the Valley Stream mom didn't know her son's whereabouts. Today she knows exactly where he is. Damien is one of 300 Marine reservists who returned to the Sgt. John F. Mackie Center in Garden City, home of the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, from Iraq on Aug. 3. Cathy, three car-loads of her family and friends, including Damien's siblings, Meghan, Cully and Christy, and more than 1,000 others were waiting outside the base when 10 bus-loads of Marines pulled in at 12:30 p.m. The Marines had returned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina July 29. They were relieved by members of the Italian army.
While Cathy is happy to see her son home and safe, she still has a reason to worry. Her husband, 1st Sgt. Al Lombardo, 52, an Army reservist, was called up in March and was deployed from Fort Dix, N.J., to Afghanistan in June. Al, a Vietnam veteran, has been a reservist for more than 20 years and is a New York City police detective.
To welcome her son home, Cathy made a banner, more than 20 feet long. In red and blue felt letters against a white background, the sign read, "Welcome Home Damien." Red, white and blue tinsel outlined the banner, which stretched across Gotham Street from the Lombardos' house to their neighbor's. Cathy got a little help from Valley Stream Engine Co. 3. The firefighters came at 7:30 the morning Damien returned to hang the banner. Cathy's husband is retired from Engine Co. 3. Close friends, who live across from the Lombardos, also put a sign on their front lawn.
Damien, a 1996 Hewlett High School graduate, returned home just in time to celebrate his 25th birthday, which was Aug. 4.
Damien, who served in a scout sniper platoon, was first deployed to Kuwait, then transferred to Iraq. He is a member of H&S Company and was stationed in Nasiriyah. The Marines took over a summer home that belonged to one of the U.S. government's most wanted Iraqi leaders. More than 70 soldiers lived in the house, in the middle of Nasiriyah on the banks of the Euphrates River, surrounded by an 8-foot wall.
The soldiers' job was to maintain order in the city -- to act as a police presence. According to Damien, the majority of Iraqis in the city were happy to see the American soldiers. Still, Damien said the soldiers were always on guard.
While patrolling the streets, he said, "We'd see people everyday who were missing an eye, an arm, a hand. Our interpreter would point them out and say, 'Saddam did that.' Everybody knew somebody that Saddam did that to."
Despite the danger he and others stationed in Iraq faced daily, Damien said the Marines expressed confidence. "We knew we weren't going to lose," he said.
A reservist since November 1997, Damien was activated for 11 months during Operation Enduring Freedom right after Sept. 11. During his activation, his unit participated in intense training, but after the 11 months his unit was sent home.
"They promised us if there was going to be a war, we were going to be involved," Damien said. "They lived up to that promise. No Marine wants to be in the military and watch the war on TV."
He was activated again within a month.
While overseas, he had minimal contact with his family, but he did receive care packages from his mother. One care package included a blow-up swimming pool and a rubber duck from his neighbor.
After being on his toes for five months with few moments of rest, Damien said he is looking forward to rest and relaxation. He doesn't have to report back to base till November, when his tour will be ending.
Damien is also looking forward to completing his college education and marrying his fiancee, Katie, next June.
Meanwhile, his father should be home in time for his son's wedding. Al will probably be deployed until January. He has been able to call his family at least once a week, and even called Damien on his cell phone on his birthday.
Cathy said she'll keep the banner she made for Damien ready for her husband. She'll just have to make a few changes before his return.
