Iraq War veteran brings the war home to Marblehead

By Jamie Jamieson
Staff writer

MARBLEHEAD ?Sgt. Jeff Greenberg reminded everyone in the audience at Veterans Day ceremonies at Abbot Hall yesterday that America is at war.

It was a message so difficult to deliver that Greenberg, 33, fought back tears through much of his brief speech.

"There are 2,000-plus people unable to speak on Veterans Day," Greenberg said, referring to the American soldiers who have died in the Iraq War so far.

As an Army National Guardsman assigned to run a field hospital in Iraq, Greenberg saw more than his share of the casualties of war. He gave no details of his year of service, but he managed to bring the war close to home just the same.

The Ipswich native had to leave his family and his landscaping business when he was called up in December of 2003. He returned to Marblehead in February of this year ?14 months later.

Even on the way from Kuwait to Mosul in a convoy of armored cars, the war didn't seem real to Greenberg and his fellow soldiers.

"You are a civilian one minute, and the next minute you are a full-time active Army soldier and it's a hard transition to make," he said.

He was still "Jeff Greenberg," not "Sgt. Greenberg" as they crossed the desert.

"You are a civilian one minute, and the next minute you are a full-time active Army soldier and it's a hard transition to make," he said.

He was still "Jeff Greenberg," not "Sgt. Greenberg" as they crossed the desert.

It wasn't real to him until his third day in Mosul, when his superior officer told him, "Sergeant, you are running the clinic."

The clinic was a level three field hospital, which meant they cared for all kinds of casualties from the Army and Marines, as well as Iraqi soldiers. Badly wounded patients from less sophisticated field hospitals would be flown to his clinic.

"We had advanced X-ray, a cardiologist, better assets," he said. "We were pretty busy."

What had been a weekend job back in the States quickly became "a life-changing commitment."

In Marblehead, everyone sees him as "Jeff Greenberg," he said. "Everyone sees what you appear to be. Few really know what you are," or where you have been.

People see the proud father of three young children, the husband of Diane Lynch, and the assistant wrestling coach at Marblehead High School.

"They do not see Sgt. Greenberg," he said.

In the Army, it was just the opposite. No one saw Jeff Greenberg. They saw Sgt. Greenberg instead.

"My family and three kids were not part of this life," he said. Talking on the satellite phone was difficult. When his family called, he had the feeling that, "Jeff Greenberg is not here right now."

Six percent of the troops are civilians with similar stories to tell, he reminded the more than 300 people who gathered yesterday.

"There are a lot of stories of guys out there with wives and kids and jobs they had to walk away from for a year. It's not like life back here stops," he said in a later interview.

Don't expect the war to end anytime soon, he seemed to be saying, when he noted that the United States has taken 15-year leases on the military bases being used in Iraq. Greenberg himself knows all too well his unit could be called up again.

Dozens of Marblehead veterans had turned out to pay their respects as the names of local veterans who had died during the past year were read yesterday.

It was a long list this year ?65 names in all. Most of the veterans on the list had served in World War II. One Navy veteran, Dorothy Brewster, had served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The youngest on the list was Christopher Piper, the Green Beret who died from wounds suffered after his convoy in Afghanistan was rocked by a roadside bomb.

Piper and Greenberg had been friends.

"Both Jeff Greenberg and Sgt. Greenberg were proud to serve," he said, ending his emotional speech

The hall full of Marbleheaders answered him with loud applause.

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