After serving 13 months in Iraq, Gilroy resident and Army
specialist, John Paradiso, 21, thought he was done with the desert.
Upon returning to the States, he learned otherwise.
After serving 13 months in Iraq, Gilroy resident and Army specialist, John Paradiso, 21, thought he was done with the desert. Upon returning to the States, he learned otherwise.
Because the last month of his active duty overlaps with the start of his unit’s 15-month mission, he will be headed back to Iraq in June for the duration of the entire mission.
Happy to have spent the holidays with his family, he is dreading his return to the desert. During his first stint overseas, he was stationed 30 miles southeast of Baghdad on the Euphrates River. The river that cradled the ancient Mesopotamian culture now runs with dead bodies, Paradiso remembered.
Although never injured himself, Paradiso has lost two close friends before his eyes. Experiences like these have hardened the son they remembered as innocent and trusting, Paradiso’s parents said. But in many ways, he’s the same as ever. The first thing he did upon arriving home was call his best friend from fifth grade.
“And we just drove,” Paradiso said. “It was great.”
Despite the changes, he still worked on his 1970 Dodge Dart during his visit home and rang in the New Year with his friends and older brother. After he returns from Iraq for good, he plans to move back to the Bay Area and join the California Highway Patrol.
More on Paradiso and his overseas stint will be posted throughout the day and be published in Friday’s Dispatch.
See more photos of Paradiso in uniform in our
