America Stands Tall Back to home page

By NOELLE DINANT

Staff writer

Bill Davidson only got nervous when he saw the pilot strap on his bullet-proof vest.

"That's when I thought, 'Oh man, this is for real,'" said the Army National Guardsman from Beverly.

One month ago, the U.S. military plane was carrying a load of stone-quiet fellow soldiers through the night and approaching the landing field in Uzbekistan.

About 30 minutes from the runway, the pilot started swaying the plane from side to side and killed all the lights -- standard procedure for landing in a potential hot zone.

Davidson gripped his arm rests as the plane rocketed toward the landing strip and swooped in for a quick, rough landing. When he felt the engines stop, he unclenched his hands and exhaled.

That was Day One in Uzbekistan. There would be at least another 364 before he got home to his wife, Leslie, and 2-year-old daughter.

Across the North Shore, dozens of National Guardsmen and women have sacrificed time with their families and friends to serve the nation's wartime needs at home and overseas. Statewide, 3,000 Guardsmen, or one in every three, have been activated since Sept. 11.

Their missions have ranged from protecting water supplies and airports to providing military support in Afghanistan.

Davidson and at least a dozen other area residents (the military could not provide an exact count) are serving in Central Asia right now.

"It's a double-edged sword," Davidson said in a recent interview, his voice crackling over thousands of miles of telephone wire and satellite links. "I've had to sacrifice a lot of things with my family, but there's a great satisfaction in knowing I'm helping out how I can."

Barren landscape

1st Sgt. Davidson, who is a police officer in Manchester, is second in command of the Massachusetts Army National Guard 972nd, a military police unit out of Melrose.

They provide the law and order on base and have training in anti-terrorism, prisoners of war and customs. They arrived in Uzbekistan a month ago, relieving another unit from the base, which is a temporary arrangement with giant tents.

Before this, Davidson had never served in a wartime mission, and certainly never overseas. Like most guardsmen, he'd never been activated for anything more serious than cleaning up storm damage.

But his unit has several guardsmen who were also activated during the Persian Gulf War. "They have a lot of knowledge that helps us," he said.

Still, he didn't know what to expect.

Flying in at night, Davidson had seen nothing of the country that would be his home for at least a year. The former Soviet republic, which declared its independence in 1991, borders Afghanistan to the north.

With sunrise, he got his first look.

"It's not like a typical desert" with giant sand dunes, he said. "It's barren. There's not much wildlife, not much grass."

The only buildings in the remote area were blown up by the Russians long ago during their nearly 15-year war with Afghanistan. A few outlying villages -- small groupings of mud-brick homes -- can be seen in the distance.

And every day, the sun beats down in at least 100-degree heat, with no sign of rain.

"108 today," Amy Kasprzyk said cheerfully.

Called up Sept. 11

Spc. Kasprzyk, 25, of Salem, is also in Davidson's unit.

The Salem High graduate was at her sales job at Bob's Store in Middleton when the terrorists struck Sept. 11.

"I was in complete shock, baffled," she said. "Everyone was listening to the radio."

That's when Kasprzyk turned to her boss.

"I've got to home early today," she said. "I have a feeling I'm going somewhere."

She got the call at 7:30 that night: The 972nd was going to Logan International Airport to help with security. That mission lasted seven months.

"It was quite an experience," Kasprzyk said. "You could see the relieved looks on people's -- the passengers' -- faces. They looked like they felt better knowing we were there."

And the Boston location allowed Kasprzyk to come home at night to her parents' house, where she lives. But a commute from Uzbekistan is a different story.

"Yeah, we're away from our families, but you get used to it," she said. "I was pretty much excited to come. I feel like I'm actually doing something, helping the country get back to normal."

Home front support

Her mother, Diane Kasprzyk, said she worries about her daughter, but she also has confidence in her training.

"She's very good at what she does," she said.

Amy Kasprzyk joined the Massachusetts National Guard in 1997 "like everyone else does -- they pay for tuition." She wants to be a police officer and thought the military police would give her a strong foundation.

She was supposed to be discharged in the spring, but with this mobilization, who knows? The government has suspended all discharges.

"They need to retain as many people as they can," she said.

Davidson joined the Army in 1984 and followed his active duty enlistment with the National Guard in 1987.

He credits his wife, Leslie, and his boss, Manchester Police Chief Ronald Ramos, with giving him the peace of mind he needs to focus.

"The support that I and the town have been able to give him relates directly to the national unity we all feel following Sept. 11 -- and because he's such a tremendous employee," Ramos said. "We're hoping he's back soon."

Leslie Davidson said she doesn't spend time worrying, focusing instead on caring for the couple's 2-year-old daughter.

"I know he can take care of himself," she said. "And I have Morgan to take care of. What's worrying going to do for me and Morgan? Nothing.

"When Bill left, I just said, 'Come home to me.'"