Sergeant's major decision: to make First Communion

Sgt. Richard Lopez, a member of St. Mary's parish in Oneonta who is stationed in Iraq, is a little busy these days, "with the elections going on," he told The Evangelist by email.

Nonetheless, he took time to respond to some questions about a major step in his life: his recent First Communion at the age of 26 near Mosul, Iraq. Here are edited portions of his email to Patricia Pasternak, staff writer:

Q. Tell me a little about yourself.

Sgt. Lopez: I spent three years as a paratrooper in the 1-508th Airborne Battalion Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy, beginning in December 1997. After that, I was in the Florida National Guard -- prior to moving to New York. I am a traditional National Guardsman, in that I normally serve one weekend a month for training and two weeks of annual training in the summer.

Q. You saw some significant duty related to the 9/11 attacks.

Sgt. Lopez: My unit and I have served on security missions down at the World Trade Center, security missions in the subways of New York City, border patrol missions as part of Operation Noble Eagle and now combat engineering missions as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Q. What is your current duty?

Sgt. Lopez: I am currently a sergeant, a carpenter and a mason in A Company, 204th Combat Engineers Battalion (Heavy) of the N.Y. Army National Guard. I am attached to the 133rd Combat Engineers Battalion (Heavy) from Maine's Army National Guard.

Some of the missions we have completed here have been a full repair and rebuilding of a school, including bringing water to the school and a neighboring clinic in the village of Bezehe (in Kurdistan); building a dining facility for the Iraqi National Guard; numerous runway repairs on Mosul Airfield; barracks construction; numerous wood buildings for Iraqi police and military checkpoints; and numerous other construction projects in support of the U.S. military.

Q. Why did you make the decision to receive your First Holy Communion at this particular time in your life?

Sgt. Lopez: I have wanted to make my communion for years now, but my military deployments always interfered one way or another. When I first began classes at St. Mary's [Church in] Oneonta, I was deployed to [the World Trade Center] and then again, to the NY/Canadian border for patrol. Ironically, this deployment to Iraq finally allowed me time to make my First Confession and receive my First Holy Communion.

Q. Your chaplain for a while was Rev. H. Timothy Vakoc, who was severely injured by a bomb last May and remains hospitalized. How did Father Vakoc influence your decision?

Sgt. Lopez: Father (Major) Vakoc was my first priest here at Forward Operations Base (FOB) Marez in Mosul, Iraq. I attended Mass with him numerous times before asking about classes for my First Holy Communion. He was a very well-liked chaplain, and we all enjoyed the way he related the Gospel to us in terms of the military (i.e. in some cases, Jesus was a general, and the Apostles were His colonels).

He began classes with me on Sundays prior to Mass, when we were not deployed elsewhere. Sadly, shortly after beginning my classes, he and his chaplain's assistant were hit by a roadside bomb. We were all very sad they had been attacked, and still pray for him and his family. Father James Madden keeps us updated as to his condition. Father Madden is our current priest, and the chaplain who gave me my First Holy Communion, south of Mosul.

Q. You were taking religious instruction at St. Mary's Church in Oneonta, but then you were deployed overseas. Tell me a little about your decision to become a practicing Catholic. You were already baptized but didn't attend church for a number of years. What made you decide to come back?

Sgt. Lopez: While here in Iraq, I was able to surround myself with other practicing Catholics, such as Sgt. Tyson Benson, from Ithaca, and SPC James Martinez from New York City. Having others to share in my beliefs and to help me along on my "journey," as Father Vakoc would put it, I was finally able to "come back," as you put it -- although I never lost my love for the Catholic Church, its teachings or our way of life.

Q. What's next for you?

Sgt. Lopez: I plan to reenlist for another six years. I am engaged to be married to Sara Mary Rotzler of Utica. When I return to the United States, I plan on moving to North Carolina and returning to college to earn a degree in business.

I hope my responses are adequate. I'm not used to being interviewed; this is my first time. I pray for the safety of service members involved in the war on terror, and pray for the safety and high spirits of our family and friends we left to come here. God bless!

(2/3/05)