A SOLDIER'S STORY

Being Different

By
Franke Gracia

My military unit, Task Force Salerno, was named in honor of our 36th Infantry Division brothers, who were the first Americans to set foot on occupied Europe during World War II – at Salerno Beach, Italy. But since there is also a Salerno, Afghanistan, as well as a FOB (Forward Operating Base) Salerno, our task force’s name became a cause of some confusion. So we were “asked” to change our name.

Since we can trace the lineage of our unit all the way back to the Battle of the Alamo, we have renamed our task force. We are now Task Force Alamo.

Our unit’s history in Europe and old Mexico seems very appropriate to me when I scan the names of the soldiers in our task force: German names like Armentrout, Eberlein, Schmitt and Gruch; French names like LeBlanc, Roux, Marozsan and LaSalle; and common European names like Allen, Johnson, Smith, Thompson and Williams.

Then there are the uncommon names that’ll turn your tongue into a pretzel – you try to pronounce Aiuppy, Elegeert, Pietila and Knuuttila (we just call him “Sergeant K”).

European names are well-represented in Task Force Alamo: Arsenault, Burger, Erickson, Drobnica, Collins, Fleming, Goldberg, Gouchnour, Jarocki, Wakeham, Restrepo, Glovicko, Miekow, Purdy, Relihan, Troxtell and Reczek. And don’t forget the “Macs”; we’ve got McElrath, McDonald, McDowell, McGill, McLean and McMillion.

But, since the majority of our soldiers are National Guardsmen from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, our Mulligan Stew of a task force has a strong, spicy Latin flavor. We’ve got DeLeon, DeLucca, DeLuna, DelaCruz, DelaRosa, DelaGarza and DelaTejera. And, since we’ve got almost 100 soldiers with last names that are either Garcia, Garza, Martinez or Rodriguez, we have given serious consideration to establishing and founding four new towns: Garciastan, Garzastan, Martinezstan and Rodriguezstan.

Let me run down some of the first names of the soldiers that protected that blanket of freedom you slept under last night: Antonio, Alejandro, Armando, Bulmaro, Carlos, Eduardo, Eliazar, Enrique, Eugenio, Eusebio, Felipe, Gilberto, Hermilio, Isidro, Ismael, Jesus, Juan, Jose, Joaquin, Lazaro, Mario, Melquisedec, Miguel, Natividad, Pablo, Pedro, Perfecto, Ramiro, Regino, Ricardo, Rolando, Solomon and Xavier – just to name a few. Oh, and don’t forget Juana, Erenira, Sonia, Josepha and Enriqueta.

And how ‘bout those Task Force Alamo names that really cause double takes? Names like – are you ready for this: Sawaleenukool (we call him “cool”), Schmidlkofer (we call him “alphabet”), Vang Trong, Oshioke Musa, LuisBanos Obregon, and my personal favorite, MeleBaba Manibusan. We call her “Mani” and think she’s the cat’s meow. She never falls out of training runs, never complains, has a soft, feminine voice but can hurl insults with the best of them, and drives a Hummer like Maria Andretti. What a gal.

In Task Force Alamo, differences abound. A conservative Irish-Catholic serves right alongside a liberal French-Protestant and, while they may vehemently disagree on politics and religion, they will both fight like wildcats for each other. For, while we are German, Irish, African, Polynesian, Mexican or some other hyphenated American, we are, I hope, first and foremost, Americans. It is what unites us that matters most and, at least for me, trumps all our differences. Maybe someday we won’t need hyphens anymore.

In Task Force Alamo, when I look to my left and right, I might see someone that looks like me – or doesn’t. Or somebody whose name ends in a vowel like mine – or doesn’t. Or someone who mirrors my political and religious values – or doesn’t. And yet, different as we may be, here we are, in the midst of the tragedy of war, fighting for each other; fighting for everyone’s right . . . to be different. That’s definitely worth fighting for.



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Franke Gracia lives in Temple, Texas and was deployed in Afghanistan with the National Guard from May 2005 to April 2006. He is a math professor at Temple College and is very close to his family that includes two brothers and two sisters. He earned a bronze star while he was deployed, which he gave to his mother. As to why he decided to write this series of articles he says, "I hope folks who read my scribbling will gain a greater appreciation of what a citizen-soldier goes through during a deployment."