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There was no big party for Michael Diaz when he got home to Spotsylvania County from his one-year deployment in Iraq, just a banner his wife had hung from the house saying "Welcome Home."
But despite being awarded a Bronze Star for his efforts in the war, Diaz wouldn't have wanted it to be any different.
"I was glad to be home alive," he said. "I just wanted to meet with my loved ones."
Diaz, a 46-year-old first sergeant with the Army Reserve's 220th Military Police Brigade based in Gaithersburg, Md., was presented the Bronze Star for meritorious achievement during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He received the medal when he returned to the United States on Feb. 8.
Diaz was "instrumental" in the first phase of the war in Iraq, according to his Bronze Star citation.
He arrived in Kuwait on April 6, 2003, and in August moved into Baghdad to set up an allied encampment and protect its soldiers from Iraqi attack.
"My job was to keep soldiers alive," he said.
The camp, situated in the heart of Baghdad in front of Uday Hussein's palace, was under constant attack. His brigade set up a "life-support" system, putting up sandbags to stop enemy fire and defending the base during attacks.
Since the brigade's commander was still in Kuwait, Diaz was in charge of the unit.
"I wore a lot of different hats," he said. "I worked from sunup to sundown."
The worst attacks came after Saddam Hussein was captured Dec. 13, Diaz said.
"It was raining bullets on the compound," he said. "It was pretty damn scary."
Insurgents also used mortars and other weapons to attack the camp.
"The hardest thing was not knowing when you're going to go," he said. "You never knew when that mortar was going to come down on you."
Meanwhile in Spotsylvania, Diaz's wife, Ruth, and their 9-year-old son, Miguel, were worried about him.
When he was stationed in Kuwait, Diaz was able to e-mail his family and occasionally phone them. But when he moved into Baghdad, such contact became less frequent.
He kept pictures of Ruth and Miguel on the back of the access badge he wore around his neck at all times.
"I was missing them," he said. "They're my world."
Ruth Diaz tried to keep busy. Neighbors, family, church and co-workers supported her.
"The test was when they weren't there," she recalled. "I had to buy a treadmill. Whenever I felt like I couldn't take it anymore, I got on it."
Ruth Diaz's son Cameren Simmons went to Iraq with a different Army unit before his stepfather was deployed in January 2003.
"It was doubly hard for me because they were both there at the same time," she said. "And [Cameren] was afraid."
She told her husband to find Cameren if he could, but realized it was unlikely they would actually meet up.
During a July 4 concert in Kuwait, Michael Diaz was patrolling the venue when "I just happened to run into [Simmons]," he said. "It helped."
That night, they both phoned Ruth to let her know they had found each other.
Simmons got home from Iraq in late July 2003.
Michael and Ruth's younger son, Miguel, also kept himself busy while his father was gone.
He made the honor roll at Chancellor Elementary School for the first time while his father was stationed in Iraq, but he wasn't satisfied.
"I still didn't feel happy, because my dad wasn't back," he said.
When his father drove up to his Spotsylvania home, Miguel ran to see him.
"I almost tackled him," he said. "I was hugging him so much."
Operation Iraqi Freedom was the first time Diaz had been deployed for combat during his 24-year career with the Army. He will retire in April 2005.
Diaz and his brigade sometimes worked closely with Iraqis and Kuwaitis at the U.S. compound. He was able to pick up on some of their language, and he said most were proud to work for the U.S. military.
"There were a few you did get close to," he said. "It made them feel good, like we actually cared."
The military gave out about 4,000 Bronze Stars for service in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Two area Marines, Capt. Seth MacCutcheon and former Sgt. Joseph C. "Jay" Carter IV, were awarded the medal with the Combat "V" for valor at a Feb. 13 ceremony at Quantico Marine Corps Base.
The Bronze Star, authorized in 1944 by President Franklin Roosevelt for heroic or meritorious service in conflict with an enemy of the U.S., is important after all his years of service, Diaz said.
"It means the Army finally recognized my hard work," he said. "It means everything to me."
As for a party, the Diaz family will probably have one after things get back to normal. But they are thinking small.
"My husband is pretty low-key," Ruth Diaz said. "Maybe some cake and juice."
To reach CONOR REILLY: 540/374-5000, ext. 5558