Happy ending for Saugus Iraq vets

SAUGUS – Peter Gaieski said he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when his son Anthony touched down on U.S. soil after spending nine months in Iraq.”It’s nerve-wracking,” Peter Gaieski said. “There is a lot of apprehension especially when you hear they are shooting rockets and mortars into the Green Zone.”Nearly one year ago Anthony Gaieski, a police officer in civilian life, was called up to duty by the National Guard’s 972 Military Police Unit. After training at Fort Dix for a few months he, along with Jason Carmody- a civilian dispatcher also with the Police Department, shipped out to Iraq.Carmody said that, while they were in the same unit and saw each other daily, he and Gaieski weren’t in the same squad.But that wasn’t so hard on Gaieski because this was not his first go-round in a military uniform. In 2003, Gaieski served in Uzbekistan during the Enduring Freedom campaign. He was also deployed to Logan Airport just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.This, Gaieski said, was different. Not only did temperatures soar to 123 degrees at least one time, but also the entire culture was vastly different from what he was used to.Stationed in Baghdad just outside of Sadr City, the job of Gaieski’s unit was to provide security for Iraq dignitaries. Specifically, his squad protected Iraq’s Sunni Vice President, Tariq al-Hashimi.”There are two vice presidents, a Shiite and a Sunni,” he explained. “We were assigned to the Sunni vice president.”That meant where al-Hashimi went Gaieski went, on pretty much a 24/7 basis.”Anytime he wanted to move outside the Green Zone we took him,” he said.While Gaieski took the adventure in stride, his father still looked apprehensive.In March when news reports showed the Green Zone getting hit with mortars and rockets Peter Gaieski said he and his wife Linda sat on pins and needles until they heard from Anthony.”He finally called us that night but it plays havoc on your nerves,” he said. “Then there were the times we were talking on the phone and he’d say he had to go because he they were shelling the place.”A Navy veteran himself, Peter Gaieski said he understands a little of what his son went through even though he never saw combat time.”I was in the Vietnam era,” he said. “There wasn’t much of a call for submarines there.”Peter Gaieski noted that every generation seems to have its own war and his family has seen most of them.”For his grandfather it was World War II, for me it was Vietnam, and for his uncle it was Korea,” he said.Although Gaieski and Carmody both said they were kept busy during their tour of duty, Carmody said that was for the best. Living mission-to-mission with no real days off kept their minds from wandering too much.Carmody said their unit was also lucky in that it arrived home with everyone they left with.”There were no worries,” he said. “We made it through without a scratch, no injuries, no wounds.”And, Gaieski added, feeling very much appreciated. When the local soldiers hit the state line Police Lt. Mike Annese and Sgt. Mike Stewart along with officers from other departments that had soldiers serving, picked up the soldiers’ group and escorted it to Camp Curtis Guild.”The escort was awesome,” Gaieski said. “You feel actually appreciated. In the Vietnam era guys didn’t even want to wear their uniforms. I know a lot of people say they don’t support the war but they support the troops and that makes you feel good.”