Home away from home, away from home

Photo By Sgt. Christopher Jones | CAMP NAVISTAR, Kuwait (16 July 2006)-- Spc. Vicente Florez swears in as a United States citizen in a ceremony in Kuwait this Spring. "I never expected to become an American, and I never expected to be proud of it."  

CAMP NAVISTAR, KUWAIT

07.17.2006

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Central   

By Spc. Christopher Jones,
Desert Voice Staff Writer

CAMP NAVISTAR, Kuwait (July 16, 2006) --- On Oct. 20, 1999, 13-year-old Vicente Florez-Zapata was chatting with a group of friends before class at a middle school in Medellin, Colombia, when another boy walked up with a pistol in his pocket. The boy aimed the gun at one of Florez's friends and shot him in the head, killing him instantly.

This may not be surprising considering the statistics. During the 1990's, Medellin had the highest ever homicide rate of any city outside a war zone. A March 2005 article in National Geographic dubbed the violence, fueled primarily by the city's dueling drug lords, an "urban war," likening it to Iraq.

Six years later, Florez finds himself in an actual combat zone, three months after becoming a United States citizen.
Shortly after his friend's death, Florez was given the opportunity to leave Colombia for the U.S. His mother, Patricia Zapata who had worked at John Deere in Colombia, was offered a position in America, and was allowed to bring one family member.
"I didn't want to go," Florez said. "My family was in Colombia. I didn't want to leave them."

The constant violence in Medellin was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that Florez would be leaving nearly his entire family.
Eventually, Florez decided to join his mother, who had taken a job in Orion, Ill.

From a city sometimes resembling a battlefield to a quiet Midwest community of 2,000 residents, Florez saw opportunities develop that "would have been impossible in Colombia."

School, sports, traveling " his passion for America grew quickly. By his sophomore year of high school, he had already made the decision he would join the military. One of the causes that led to him enlisting was perhaps an unusual one " while playing for his high school soccer team, he was inspired by the town's pride in the high school teams, and he saw a similar relationship between Americans and their military.

"I wanted to join after that soccer season," Florez said. "There was so much pride in that town, for the school and the country."
The thing that ultimately brought Florez to swear in to the Illinois National Guard, however, was the basic feeling of wanting to "give back."

"I wanted to show that, even though I wasn't born in this country, I am thankful and proud of being in the United States," said Florez, now an artilleryman with 2nd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery Regiment, Illinois National Guard.

At the time of his enlistment, Florez was well aware that he would be deploying, and he wanted nothing more than to do just that.
"So many people turn their backs on the army in a time of war," Florez said, "but that's when you are needed the most. You're not just fighting for the government, but for the people."

An artilleryman by trade, Florez was tasked with working at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center on Camp Navistar " an assignment he never expected. Much of the rest of his unit is patrolling the streets of Baghdad, while his current field of work involves telephone and Internet connections; distributing books, magazines and movies; helping organize concerts and shows by NFL cheerleaders.

Not a bad gig, he said, but not what he was trained to do.
"I expected to be in Iraq," he said. "I expected to be on the streets of Baghdad."

But Florez has embraced his new role. It's the same puzzle; he just plays a new piece.

"It's a good feeling, when guys come back from Iraq, to get them on the Internet and phones to talk to their families," he said. "It's important to feel loved."

Other Soldiers in his unit see his pride and dedication on display.
"Some soldiers are over here because they had their arm twisted and were told to come. [Florez] is here because he wants to be," said Staff Sgt. Robert Emmert, who works with Florez at the MWR Center on Navistar.

Emmert and Florez have more in common than being two artillerymen far outside their normal job - they come from the same high school. They first met when Florez, who worked at Pizza Hut in high school, delivered a pizza to Emmert's house near Orion. Florez, who knew Emmert was already in the National Guard, told his soon-to-be NCO that he had joined as well.

As Guardsmen, they will return home to their civilian careers and educational pursuits " and also, they return with connections to each other that are developed through these combat tours. As Florez says, "These guys are more than my friends. It becomes personal. It becomes a part of me."

Emmert continues, "I don't think we are able to fully appreciate the bonds we make until we are home."

Florez deployed to Kuwait in late September. Now on the final leg of his deployment, Florez is looking to return home and continue college. He has finished one semester at Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois. His interests - psychology and law enforcement.
The things he witnessed in Medellin could have led to a lifetime of emotional and psychological scars. Instead, he couldn't be more inspired or positive.

"I never expected to become an American," said Florez. "And I never expected to be proud of it."

Florez still keeps in contact with his family and friends in Colombia through e-mails and phone calls, and he said he is still proud of his former homeland.

"Colombia is a beautiful country," he said. "The truth is that Colombia is full of hard-working people who will do anything for their family and friends. They are also honest and caring."

But Illinois is home now. At an April ceremony, he became a U.S. citizen. Before that, he was already a U.S. Soldier.

"There really isn't a difference between serving in the Army whether you are a citizen or not," he said. "But I really am proud that I can now say that I am a United States citizen."

Still, he says, the hardest decisions he has ever made are the ones that involve leaving behind his loved ones. He has done it twice now.

"Being in the U.S. Army was never my dream," he said. "My dream was to find something to defend. The people became that. They became what I wanted to defend."

• Date Taken: 07.17.2006
• Date Posted: 07.17.2006 16:45
• Story ID: 7209
• Location: CAMP NAVISTAR, KW