Many locals among those proudly serving in US military

(by Gail Maggi, Staff Writer). The dreaded day of war began last week and ?Operation Iraqi Freedom? started. The quest began to end the threat to the world from Saddam Hussein and his regime, including his own two sons. People around the world seem to either hate the idea or feel like, ?Good, let?s get this over with!? Some are for it and some against, but the fact remains, many of our young people in the military, both men and women, are stationed in the Middle East. More are ready to be deployed to the area or are stateside doing their duty.

?Art and Diane Pszczolkowski of Posen have a son, Josh, a sergeant in the U.S. Army now stationed in Georgia, but was recently in Korea. Josh has been in the service for six years. ?What can you do? You just pray about it like everybody else,? Art said of his son.

?I?ll tell you one thing,? Art said, ?These protesters make me sick. These kids didn?t ask to be sent into a war. When they take that oath, they must do exactly as they are told. They don?t have a choice. ?I remember how awful it was when I came back from Vietnam, people would spit on you. I could have stayed in Vietnam and got that kind of treatment.?

?Steven Pauly, Sonar Tech 3rd Class E4 (submarine) with 3 1/2 years in service is the son of Marcia Opie and Galen Pauly. Steve is stationed in Connecticut presently and mom Marcia is plenty bothered by the war news. ?Sure, it bothers me, and I do worry a lot about him and about all those others over there as well,? Marcia said. ?I don?t like the protesting and I think our people should back those involved in this war.?

?The family of Bob and Marcia Wodkowski has four children, three in the military and one about to enter the Marines June 23 following graduation this year. Amanda Wodkowski said she just heard from her brother John, in the Marines, who will going to Bahrain soon. ?Tina is in the Air Force and will be deployed soon,? Amanda said, ?but she can?t tell us where, and my sister Jess is in the Navy. Of course my parents are worried…that?s their kids, but they are OK with it all and handling it,? Amanda assured. Try multiplying those fears by four children in the military and suddenly it hits home how devastating this war business can be.

?Ron and Joann Altman were contacted to find out how to get in touch with Tootie Wickersham?s mother, Marcia, as she has moved from the area. Elizabeth (Tootie) Wickersham, is a Petty Officer 3rd Class in the Navy. Tootie is the daughter of Marcia Pidgen of Pickford and Nyle Wickersham of Posen. Area parents will remember with fondness the RCHS sporting events Tootie participated in some years back. ?I got a call just moments ago from Marsha,? said a startled Ron Altman on Sunday. ?Tootie is OK. She?s stationed in Bahrain, according to Marcia, on the border of Kuwait.?

Like everybody else, Ron said he?s worried about all the young people in the military over there. ?They should have done this a long time ago!? Ron said. ?I?ll tell you what they can do with those protesters…take them over to Baghdad and keep on bombing!?

MARCIA SAID, ?I?m handling the stress fine…some days. I work so I don?t stay glued to the TV too much. Now Tootie has a cell phone. As long as I can hear from her, it?s much better.? ?When you see those protesters on TV,? Marcia continued, ?I?d like to ring their necks! They don?t understand what those kids are doing for them.?

?Matthew Bredow, 3 years in the Navy, is presently stationed in Brunswick, Maine. Yvonne and Keith Bredow are his parents, and knowing he is still in the United States gives them a little comfort but not much. ?We watch the news and are very concerned about all those who are over there,? Yvonne said. ?Those protesters…I know it?s their choice and right to protest…but I don?t understand their violence.

?Does that make them any better? Protest if they must, but don?t break the law and infringe on other citizens rights…it?s sickening. We need to be behind our military right now and show our support.

?S/Sgt Steven Kroll, Army, is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and is married to Susan (Kuznicki) whi is also formerly a member of the military up until several months ago when their third child was born. Susan is the daughter of James and Donna Kuznicki of Rogers City, and they are the grandparents of the three Kroll grandchildren Zachary, five, Michaela, three, and Alexander, seven months. Steven is the son of John and Mary Kroll of Posen, who have another son Joseph in the Air Force as a Services Specialist. Steven had recently been deployed to Columbia and will be deployed again in the near future. Their other son Joe has been deployed to Bahrain. ?Everybody has a right to their opinion, but they should support our military even if they disagree with the political views,? said John, their father.

?Leroy (Ely) Morrison, Army Specialist E4, stationed in South Korea, is the son of Chuck Paull and Carrie (Richards) Hartshorn, and the grandson of Carole Richards and Iris and Nelson Paull.

?I?m OK with all the war stuff, because the Bible tells us this is what is going to come to pass,? said his mom Carrie. ?But I?d like to tell those protesters to ?go find another country!? ? she added emphatically with the hurt felt by every parent who sees the display on the TV. Then Carrie added, ?Just put down…In God We Trust.?

?William Richards, Sergeant First Class, has been in the Army for 23 years. Richards is the son of Doug and Mary Anna Richards of Rogers City and his home base is Alabama, but William was deployed to an unknown designation February 8.

?It?s almost more than we can handle,? Doug said of his son turning away with tears in his eyes. On the subject of protesters, Doug said, ?We fought so they could protest…but I don?t like it.? Both Doug and his wife are overwrought and trying to deal with the uncertainty on not even knowing exactly where their son is right now, and torn with fears that all the parents of military loved one are going through.

?Jacob Gapczynski, Army with the 82nd Airborne Delta Company, is 23 years old and presently stationed right in the middle of all the conflict in Iraq. Jacob is the son of Alan and Debra Gapczynski of Rogers City. The last time they heard from Jacob was a letter posted February 26, and they are plenty worried about his well-being.

?He was transferred to gunnery school and learning how to approach and disarm the enemy going house to house, so who knows e

xactly where and what he is doing,? said Al speaking of his son?s whereabouts in Iraq. Both parents are of course very proud of their son, but the worry is evident, ?We?re committing this to the Lord…we?re going day-to-day,? Debra said. ?Our hands our tied.? Debra felt the anti-war protesters had the right to protest, but they should at least support the troops. ?We left town for a few days to get away from it all,? Debra said. ?But once we got to the motel, we turned the TV right back on.? Jacob?s letter said he had been moved from his platoon to another platoon and he was put on the front line as a gunner.

?THAT WAS like a kick in the stomach,? Debra lamented. ?We were just stunned when we got the letter ? we had no idea that would happen because he?s actually ?airborne? and a paratrooper. ?We think he may have been put on the front lines because of his marksmanship abilities.? Left in the lurch until the next letter of communication, the Gapczynski family remains hopeful and prayerful along with all the other parents with loved ones in the military service. These few excerpts represent only a fraction of the youth from our area that are serving proudly in the military. If you know of any loved ones, friends or family in the military, bring in their photo and include their name, rank, where they are stationed or deployed, and a little information about them. The Advance will include them in a weekly tribute to our local military heroes. It does not matter if they stationed stateside or overseas, just that they are in the military.