At Fort Dix, troops get heartfelt homecoming

By Edward Colimore

- The Philadelphia Inquirer

After months of combat in Iraq, the deaths of two comrades, and the wounding of others, members of the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team were more than ready for the peace and comfort of home -- not to mention a good night’s rest. But their exhaustion after the long flight was overtaken by excitement as the 300 soldiers marched onto Fort Dix and saw their waiting families shortly after 4 a.m. Tuesday.

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Spc. Dan Kovac and wife Tara Kovac of Bellwood, Pa ( right ) kiss when the first wave of more than 4,000 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen arrived at Fort Dix on Aug. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Robertson, Philadelphia Inquirer)

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The 56th has headquarters in Northeast Philadelphia and has elements from armories across the state. Soldiers arriving Tuesday were from units in Huntingdon, Altoona, Everett, and Hamburg. More soldiers -- including a unit based in Bellefonte and Tyrone -- arrived at Fort Dix about 2 o'clock this morning, said Capt. Paolo Sica, commander of Company C, 2nd Battalion.

The crowd of about 100 loved ones, many of whom had driven through the night, clapped and cheered from behind barriers at the Joint Training center building Tuesday morning. Some held “Welcome Home!” banners, and at least three wives, including 25-year-old Brandi Deguia of Brownsville, Pa., cradled babies who were meeting their fathers for the first time.

Like a dam bursting, the disciplined ranks broke. Guard members rushed toward their fiancees and relatives, embracing, kissing, crying, and laughing with all the pent-up emotion of a year.

“Hi, it’s Daddy!” said Sgt. Giancarlo Deguia, 24, his eyes welling as he introduced himself to 5-month-old Lucas. He hugged his wife and their 4-year-old daughter, Chloe.

“This is indescribable,” said the sergeant, smiling broadly. “It’s one of the greatest days in my life. I’ve been looking forward to this since I left.”

“It’s very exciting and emotional for us,” added Brandi Deguia, as tears ran down her cheeks. “I was crying on the way here.”

Giancarlo Deguia, a correctional officer in civilian life, was in the first wave of more than 4,000 returning members of the brigade, the only one of the Army’s seven elite Stryker units within a Guard division. Yesterday’s return of the troops, who left for Iraq in January, marked the beginning of the end for the largest Pennsylvania National Guard contingent sent into combat since World War II.

The 56th has headquarters in Northeast Philadelphia and has elements from armories across the state. Soldiers arriving yesterday were from units in Huntingdon, Altoona, Everett, and Hamburg. Others are expected to fly in this week, and all will be honored at official welcome-home parties from Erie to Philadelphia.

The reunions are a joyous time, said Giancarlo Deguia, as well as a moment of “remembrance for the guys still back there and the guys we lost.”

Two brigade members were killed. Staff Sgt. Mark C. Baum, 32, of Quakertown, a corrections officer at the Bucks County prison, was hit by small-arms fire Feb. 21. Spec. Chad A. Edmondson, 20, of Williamsburg, near Altoona, was killed by an improvised bomb explosion May 27.

More than 40 others were injured in combat. At least 10 were awarded medals of valor.

The soldiers will have reentry adjustments. Yesterday, they turned in weapons that had become like appendages.

“I keep looking for my weapon,” said Capt. Cory Angell, 36, who was part of an advance team that arrived a few days earlier. “We turn them in when we get here, but after living with a rifle for eight months or so, it’s part of you.

“A lot of guys will feel a little odd at first, and that’s natural, one of those things,” he said. “It’s part of coming back, changing gears.”

Angell, a public-affairs spokesman, said he learned his wife was pregnant and had moved to Fredericksburg, Pa. He will be going to their new home -- and will have a son in three weeks.

“The brigade will continue landing in sections over a period of three weeks and will be done by mid-September,” he said. “Fort Dix has never looked so beautiful.”