
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 12, 1994                   TAG: 9410120057
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER NOTE: above
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AREA VETS EXPECTED ANOTHER GULF SHOWDOWN

Four years after their service in the Middle East, a lot is different for Roanoke Valley's Persian Gulf War veterans. For many of them, re-establishing the routines of daily life has meant enrolling in college, getting married, starting families or launching new careers. It's been a time of transition, a period of change.

But this week, as Saddam Hussein amassed troops along Kuwait's border, the Iraqi leader sent a clear message: Forget the passage of time, much is still the same.

The news was a rude awakening for most Americans, many of whom had relegated memories of the Gulf War to the history books. For Roanoke-area veterans, though, it came as no surprise.

"When I got home from the Gulf, I said we'd be back there within five years," said Kevin Burton, who served in the Navy, aboard an amphibious ship. "I wasn't really surprised because Saddam never really renounced his right to land in Kuwait."

For Duane Jones, who served in the Marines, the reaction was similar. "I kind of figured it would happen. A lot of us said the U.S. would wind up being involved with Saddam Hussein again. It was just a matter of when. I never figured it would be this soon."

Army National Guard Lt. Col. David Roederer helped establish a logistics base in Kentucky at the end of the war. He was driving home from work when he heard the news on the radio.

"Here we go again," he thought.

Here we go again is exactly the response the United States and its allies should take, the veterans said. While few believe Saddam Hussein will risk another invasion, they don't believe his promises to withdraw his troops either.

"Saddam has played around too long. If he was going to invade again, he would have done it by now," said Dennis Hardy of Salem, who served in the Marines. "We're getting organized down there now. You never can tell though, because that man is messed in the head."

Calling Saddam's actions "saber-rattling," Roederer said, "I think this is more of his rhetoric, but it takes a long time to get people over there and set up. I don't think we should wait for the first shot."

Burton admitted that he was concerned President Clinton wouldn't respond with enough force. "I was pleasantly surprised by the president's reaction," he said. With U.S. presence, "I think Saddam is going to fully blink. This won't blow up like the last time, because he hasn't got the troops he had then."

The last time is never far from the veterans' thoughts. "It's all coming back," Hardy said. "It seems like it was maybe a year ago."

"You wonder at times," Roederer said. "We were poised to actually take the country over then. One wonders why we didn't go further."

But Sgt. Major James Bryant, now Salem's deputy chief of police, defended the decision to withdraw before overthrowing the Iraqi regime. "We were there to free the Kuwaiti people from Saddam Hussein. We did that," he said. "That doesn't mean we should have gone to Baghdad. I'm not sure what we would have done with the country of Iraq had we done that."

Most of the Gulf War veterans said they are listed under the military's inactive reserves status and are unlikely to return, no matter what happens. That doesn't mean they don't think about it. "I feel for the guys who are there now and their families," Burton said. "I remember. The worst part was the waiting."

by CNB