Puerto Rican Guard unit prepares for return home

Photo By Staff Sgt. Engels Tejeda | Spc. Victor Mojica, received the Army's Purple Heart medal for serious injuries he incurred during an ambush on his logistic patrol by anti-Iraqi forces. He opted to stay in Iraq until his wounds heeled and then returned to the road to finish the deployment with the rest of his platoon.  

TALLIL, IRAQ

05.12.2006

Courtesy Story

207th Public Affairs Detachment

By Staff Sgt. Engels Tejeda
Staff Writer

CAMP ADDER, Iraq - As they finish a year-long deployment to Iraq, National Guardsmen from Puerto Rico show that there is ample supply of coalition heroes from the war in Iraq.

Consider the story of Spc. Victor Mojica, a 22-year-old gunner from Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

Mojica deployed to Iraq in June 2005 with the 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 295th Infantry Regiment out of Juncos, Puerto Rico. His platoon was attached to the 48th Brigade Combat Team, and it spent half of its time patrolling the perimeter of the Baghdad International Airport.

In October, an improvised explosive devise blew up his humvee while he sat in the vehicle's turret. He and the two other Soldiers in the vehicle counted their blessings and walked away unharmed.

"It was my first combat experience," Mojica says, speaking in English and Spanish. "The vehicle was disabled but none of us got harmed. I got a bunch of dirt on my face, but that was it. We were lucky."

In December, the 48th BCT moved to Camp Adder and Mojica's platoon began escorting combat logistics patrols across the country. In February, just minutes after departing a military post north of Baghdad on a nighttime patrol, the patrol was ambushed.

Anti-Iraqi forces peppered the troops and the civilians they were escorting with rocket propelled grenades, IEDs, and small-arms fire. His vehicle got hit again, and this time, he wasn't as lucky.

"There was this big ball of fire inside the humvee and I felt the heat," Mojica says. "I felt like something was burning inside of me but I couldn't see. So I checked everyone else and then got back up and laid down fire for about a minute."

Something was burning " a good part of his body. A rocket had come crashing through the back windows, entering in one side and exiting out the other.

"Had anyone been sitting in the back, they wouldn't have made it," Mojica says.

In fact, the front seat passenger, Staff Sgt. Carlos Sierra, 48, would not have made it either had Mojica not blocked a piece of shrapnel that was headed for Sierra's head.

"He was the gunner and the shrapnel got lodged in his butt," Sierra recalls. "His butt saved my life, literally."

A second rocket hit the vehicle, but luckily it didn't penetrate the armor. Spc. Anthony Harris, 32, the driver, was momentarily knocked out. Meanwhile, Sierra's back caught on fire and Mojica had to duck inside the vehicle to help him out. Within seconds he got back up and suppressed the enemy until the entire patrol got through the kill zone.

Back on his feet, Harris, also a medic gave first aid to Mojica and Sierra. All three made it, but Mojica and Sierra had substantial injuries.

Mojica's injuries were significant enough that he was given the option of going home for recovery. He refused, opting instead to take a month of "light duty" and stay with the team until their deployment ended.

"This is what I came here for. It comes with the job," he says. "It's not big deal, I mean, Forrest Gump had a piece of metal stuck in his butt. Now we have a Forrest Gump from Puerto Rico."

That's the kind of attitude that his whole team has shown throughout the deployment, despite being constantly exposed to danger.

While in Baghdad, the National Guardsmen discovered more weapon caches than any other platoon in the battalion, often nipping in the bud anti-Iraqi plots. They were usually on patrol for up to 18 hours without rest.

"The missions are difficult; there is no doubt about that," says Spc. Victor Manuel Gonzales, 22, from Caguas, Puerto Rico, "but it helps out a lot when you are out here with your brothers."

"The truth is I feel very proud of this platoon, of my guys, and I'm pleased that most of them are young because that gives us the opportunity to shape them," says the platoon leader, 1st Lt. Hector Ayala, noting that most of the Soldiers, are under 29.

"Being that young also helps because they joke around a lot, which creates camaraderie."

The camaraderie is apparent to anyone who strolls through the platoon's living area. If the troops are not on the road, their doors are usually open and Regatton and Salsa music merge with the tapping sound of dominoes to create an atmosphere reminiscent of a barrio.

In the afternoons there is usually a barbeque going, and even during serious events, the Soldiers manage to pull pranks.

For example, shortly after the 48th's commanding general presented Purple Heart medals to Mojica and to Sgt. Antonio Velez for serious injuries during the deployment, Spc. Antonio Ortiz, the unit's youngest Soldier at 19 and its biggest prankster, presented his own purple heart to the two veterans.

It was a puffy, heart-shaped, purple pillow that read "It's all about me."

To be sure, these guys are neither cavalier nor fanatics about their mission. They are ever mindful that although none of the Soldiers in their platoon has lost his life, at least 25 members of the 48th died during the deployment.

And though all of the National Guardsmen walked away from the February ambush, one of the civilians they were escorting was killed.

The 2nd Platoon is scheduled to return home sometime in May.

Information provided by Sgt. Esmeralda Marrero, 16th Corps Support Group.

• Date Taken: 05.12.2006
• Date Posted: 05.12.2006 14:52
• Story ID: 6363
• Location: TALLIL, IQ