Cali Marine can’t get enough
a href=”http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/ad983156332a819185256cb600677af3/efc8ee16f6d8109085256f48004c1918?OpenDocument” target=”blank”>USMC
A Marine who said goodbye to active duty in 2003 proves that ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine.’
Sgt. Hugo Valdez-Reyes, 29, a squad leader with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, voluntarily applied for activation from the inactive ready reserves in order to rejoin his unit in time for their deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After his end of active service, Valdez-Reyes, a Limore, Calif. native, found himself bored at home missing the discipline of the Marine Corps lifestyle. ‘At home, I ended up doing nothing with my life,’ said Valdez-Reyes. ‘I decided to take a break, but that break ended up becoming longer and longer.’
Valdez-Reyes says the news reports from the front lines convinced him that he needed to rejoin his unit. ‘There were a lot of news reports talking about how Marines were taking casualties in Iraq, and I decided that I needed to do something for my Marines,’ said Valdez-Reyes. ‘So I decided to come back to India Company.’
Even though he was away for approximately a year, Valdez-Reyes’s Marines were glad to see him return. ‘He’s pretty motivating, he teaches us a lot, and he teaches us a lot of stuff that we’ll need to know in a firefight,’ said Pfc. Mario Tabarracci, a squad automatic weapon gunner with Company I, 3/5 Marines.
‘I’ve learned a lot going from a private to a rifleman to a squad leader,’ said Valdez-Reyes, ‘and I hope that my Marines can learn from what I’ve taught them.’ His desire to teach his Marines is mirrored by his dedication to leading by example. ‘He never seems to sleep,’ said Lance Cpl. Joseph M. Sawyer, a fire team leader with Company I, 3/5. ‘He can stay up all night going over mission plans or training schedules and still be up and early the next morning ready for (physical training). That’s the kind of leader he is. He leads by example.’
Even though his Marines are glad to see him back, his parents had their hesitations about him going into a combat zone. ‘At first, my parents were pretty worried about my activation and getting sent over here,’ said Valdez-Reyes, ‘but they know I came back for my Marines and they support me all the way.’
Growing up, Valdez-Reyes always dreamed of being in the military. To fulfill his dreams, he joined the Marines. ‘When I was younger I wanted to join the Army to become a soldier,’ said Valdez-Reyes, ‘But as I learned more about the military, I knew that the brotherhood of the Marine Corps would be best for me.’
Subscribe
Comments