One Hoboken family is preparing to see their 23-year-old son off to war, just three weeks after they were evacuated from their home due to the devastating fire at 12th and Washington streets.
After enlisting in the Army in January of 2007, Stephen Smith, a native of Hoboken, learned late last summer that his unit, based in Fort Lee, Va., was scheduled to deploy for a 15-month tour of duty. While he knows he is going to Iraq, the military has not yet told him the specific region.
While the war in Iraq has garnered fewer and fewer headlines during presidential election season, soldiers are still being sent overseas.
“I’m excited,” Smith said last week. “I’ve heard so much from guys who have been over there that I wanted to experience it for myself.”
Smith added, “I always wanted to make a positive contribution to my country, and I feel like I’m finally getting a chance to do it.”
Not surprisingly, Smith’s mother Miriam, an administrator at the Hoboken Charter School, was not as excited about her son’s deployment.
“I’m proud beyond words, but I’m nervous, as I’m sure every mother is who finds out that their son or daughter is headed overseas.”
She added, “I love him so much and I realize this was his choice, but for me, it’s difficult. I just don’t know where so many young people who enlist during a war find the strength to make that decision.”
Smith’s older brother Edward said, “It was a mixed reaction. I was happy for him and worried for him at the same time. I think he made a good decision in joining the Army, but I’m looking forward to seeing him come home.”
Since January, Smith and his fellow soldiers have been preparing at Fort Lee through training exercises including force marches, clearing rooms, taking and searching mock prisoners, and convoy training – which entails how to spot and react to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), one of the most deadly weapons used by the enemy in Iraq.
Smith joins the ranks of at least eight other Hoboken residents who have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom since 2003 and/or Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001.
In addition to having to deal with an approaching deployment, the Smiths were among more than 40 families who were forced from their homes last month as a result of the four-alarm fire that ripped through the Applied Housing apartment complex at 12th and Washington streets, leaving one man dead and another seriously injured.
After spending the past two weeks between a hotel and relative’s home in Rutherford, the Smiths moved back to their 1203 Washington St. apartment the week before last.
As of Tuesday, the cause of the devastating fire has yet to be determined, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio. It is believed to have started in the apartment of the man who passed away.
SIDE BAR World War II memorial held up until May/June
After years of anticipation, Hoboken veterans from another era are looking forward to their long-awaited World War II Memorial, which is currently being constructed in the area of Fourth and Sinatra Drive along the waterfront walkway.
Although Director of Environmental Services Joseph Peluso said last September that the project would be completed by the end of 2007, due to unexpected delays resulting from a late shipment of construction material, particularly a type of granite from China, the completion date has been postponed until May 19, Memorial Day.
However, Army veteran John Carey, a spokesman for the memorial, said on Tuesday that veterans anticipate the memorial to be completed by Flag Day (June 14) or at the latest, Independence Day (July 4), when they plan to hold a celebration to commemorate the historic day.
The memorial, which is being built to honor the approximately 157 Hoboken residents who were killed in action during World War II, consists of 21 bronzed replica rifles, bayonets down, with a helmet on top, signifying the 21-gun salute. The rifles will surround a raised bronzed statue of a soldier assisting a wounded warrior off the field. – MM Michael Mullins can be reached at mmullins@hudsonreporter.com.