Town says thank you to one of Sayreville's sons Zach Zagata served with U.S. Marines in Afghanistan, Iraq BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer Former Mayor James Zagata's latest visit to Sayreville Borough hall was not about politics or town government. MICHAEL ACKER Zach Zagata, 21, (center) stands with his parents, former Sayreville Mayor James Zagata and Donna, before a crowded audience at borough hall Jan. 1. The governing body recognized Zach for his service with the Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq. Zagata's 21-year-old son, Zachary, was being honored for his service with the U.S. Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I am very proud of my son," Zagata said, adding, however, "Zach made a decision that I tried to talk him out of." Mayor Kennedy O'Brien described Zach as "one of the sons of Sayreville," saying that Zach attended St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Sayreville and St. Joseph High School in Metuchen before enlisting for military service. Zach earned a rifle shooting award, a perfect score in physical fitness, and a combat action ribbon during his service. "We share your parents' joy that you are home for Christmas," O'Brien said during the Borough Council meeting, held on New Year's Day. Zach offered words of gratitude to his family, his girlfriend and the community at large for their support, which he said was evidenced in the care packages and letters he received while he was away. "Please keep on praying for everyone over there," Zach said. "I have a lot of friends over there and they need your support." Borough Councilman Stanley Drwal, who is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, said Zach is a fine example of a young man who risked his life for his countrymen and women, as well as fellow military personnel. Self-discipline, comradery and integrity are some of the things that Zach stands for as a serviceman, he said. "Working with young men like Zach Zagata, for me, was the greatest pleasure of serving as a military officer," Drwal said. "I think that someone who has done things as Zach has done should serve as the true heroes to the youth of America, not the TV stars and the media stars." Zach stood in front of the dais at borough hall with his father and mother, Donna, as a room full of Sayreville residents gave him a round of applause at the Jan. 1 meeting. "I thought it was really good," Zach later said of the meeting. "I enjoyed it." Zach, who is with the Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 3rdMarines, left Sayreville for boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina in December 2004. "I kind of had the idea that college wasn't for me at that time," Zach said. "I wanted something new in my life … some adventure." Zach also attended the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and was later stationed in Hawaii. He was deployed to Afghanistan to help with efforts to combat the Taliban from January to May 2006. "Afghanistan was a lot more physically demanding than Iraq, hiking up mountains, living out in the woods for weeks at a time," he recalled. Zach was deployed to Iraq last March. He said that temperatures were as high as 120 degrees while he was there. "The heat was a lot worse in Iraq, walking around with 50 pounds [of gear] in your pack with you," he said. Zach did security work and patrolling in Haqlaniyah, a city located off the Euphrates River in the Al Anbar province. "We had to interact with the local people every day," he said. Zach said his experience at war taught him the value of some of the smaller things that were available to him back home, including cold drinking water and regular access to a shower. "The biggest thing that I've learned is to appreciate everything about here a million times more," he said. Returning to the United States on Oct. 20, Zach landed in Hawaii and came back to New Jersey on Dec. 19. "They knew I had landed in Hawaii," Zach said. "My whole family was there when I got on the airbase." Zach will soon return to Hawaii for 11 months to train new recruits who will go to Iraq and Afghanistan. His service is scheduled to end on Dec. 26, 2008. Zach acknowledged his friend and fellow Marine, Salvatore Guerriera, who will likely return to the U.S. in a few months. "I said I had joined the Marines, and right there, he said yes," Zach said of the time when he and Guerriera made the decision to serve their country. Zach also expressed gratitude to the residents of Sayreville and other communities who showed their support by sending care packages and letters to him while he was at war. "Bishop Ahr High School sent me a lot of packages when I went to Iraq," he said. "All of the people who I didn't know who wrote me all the time and sent me all of the packages." James Zagata, who served as mayor of Sayreville from 1996-2000 and was a member of the Borough Council for 12 years before that, and now runs his own business, said he spent a significant amount of time watching news coverage of the war while his son was serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I always checked CNN updates many times a day, trying to find out what was going on," Zagata said. "The lack of information was sometimes better than when you find out that three Marines were killed and you were worried." Zagata noted that Yahoo operates an Internet chat room where family members and loved ones of servicemen and women exchange information. "It was a phenomenal resource for parents to hear about and share anxieties and fears about the war," Zagata said. "I don't know how they did it in World War II and Korea. I would not have gotten through it without that. You can talk to girlfriends and wives. My wife was on it almost night and day." When a serviceman or woman is deployed in wartime, Zagata noted, loved ones go through an experience that is similar to anticipatory grief. "You're playing out weird scenarios," Zagata said. "That is all normal, and you don't realize that until you get to the support groups." For 2008, Zagata can rest at ease that his son is on the homeland, though still dedicated to helping his country.