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Sunday, June 27, 2004
Neighbors give salute to Orange City soldier
By MARK HARPER | News-Journal Staff Writer
ORANGE CITY — After 16 months away from home — the last 13 in Iraq — U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Ron Almodovar began his second day home with a surprise.
His wife, Jennifer, asked him to leave — but only for an hour or so.
When he returned, South First Street had been turned into a parade route.
Neighbors walked to the end of their driveways and waved flags. Girl Scouts cheered. Their mothers hugged Almodovar.
And Almodovar, accompanied by three of his daughters, was the grand marshal.
He got a bit choked up.
"It was a total shock," he said.
Almodovar is no stranger to homecomings. He returned after nine months' deployment in the Middle East during the first Gulf War, and also served another nine months in Bosnia during the mid-1990s.
On Thursday, his unit, the 351st Military Police Co., returned to a crowd of thousands at Ocala's Veterans' Memorial Park. Troops heard speeches by bigwigs. They received gifts, such as collectible horse figurines and red roses. Their names went on a memorial plaque in the park.
Yet Saturday's small salute may have earned a place closer to Almodovar's heart.
"Having one on our own home street . . . it's real touching," he said.
As he marched behind daughters Sara, 13, Mary, 11, and Patricia, 9, Almodovar headed toward a life unlike that of a military police officer patrolling Iraq cities or providing security to convoy after convoy of supplies coming into the country.
He marched toward a month of honey-do projects, such as fixing the deck, and helping his daughters build a clubhouse. He marched toward a return to his job as an electrician.
He marched toward the kind of life he hopes Iraqis will have in a few years. It's a vision he shares with best friend David Czajkowski of Deltona.
"As long as our generation takes care of the problems (in the Middle East) now, our kids hopefully won't have to worry about this stuff," Czajkowski said.
Almodovar marched past Cindy Powell, a Girl Scout leader and community service coordinator, who proposed the parade and helped organize it.
He marched past Herb Sever, former Orange City mayor, and Bill Evans, another neighbor, who held the first flag that flew on the Orange City Post Office in the 1960s. Both offered Almodovar handshakes and thanks.
He marched past Peggy Kincaid, the woman from across the street. She didn't want to admit how many years she had lived there, but said definitively: "We've never had a parade on this street before."
He marched to a spot in the shade of a tree in his front yard.
Then Almodovar said a few words of thanks. The Girl Scouts and neighbors, friends and family went back to their Saturday.