In The News
Valley Baptist Employee Returns From Iraq;
Receives Hero's Welcome
HARLINGEN, TEXAS - April 2004 - Matthew
“Matt” Stolp, a cardiovascular ultrasound technician for the Valley
Baptist Heart & Vascular Institute, recently returned home safely to the
Valley and to Valley Baptist Medical Center - Harlingen after serving for six months in Iraq and six months
in Kuwait with the U.S. Army.
“It’s good to be back. I’m very overwhelmed with the support and appreciation
from the entire hospital,” Matt said during a “Welcome Home” party for
him at Valley Baptist, where he received a hero’s welcome.
Matt is one of five Valley Baptist employees who were initially
called up for active duty after the war broke out in Iraq. In addition
to Matt, Veronica De La Rosa of VBMC’s Emergency Room recently returned
from her tour of duty. Still serving in the military are Lupita Perez of
Valley Baptist Behavioral Health Services, who sent a postcard to VBMC
from Iraq in March; Manuel Oyervides Jr. of the Valley Baptist Radiology
Dept.; and Eva Muenzler of the VBMC Medical Records Dept. Also, Irene
Fernández of Morrison Food Service returned to VBMC in the fall of 2003
after serving in the war in the Persian Gulf.
In addition, several physicians on VBMC’s Medical Staff have been
called up to duty with the armed forces, including Dr. Jose Bossolo and
Dr. Jose Cobos. VBMC employees continue to pray for the safe return of
the employees and doctors as well as all of our troops.
Matt said there’s nothing like coming home … and back to Valley
Baptist.
“As I walked through the hallways, everyone seemed to know that I had
been gone and they said it was good to see you,” Matt said of his fellow
Valley Baptist employees. “It’s nice to be recognized like that, without
being asked. And it’s very amazing to see the support of the hospital.”
Matt, who is originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, came to VBMC
in 2001 … he had often been seen out at community events such as health
screenings aboard Valley Baptist’s mobile heart clinic … or conducting
screenings at Valley Baptist’s clinic on South Padre Island. Now that
he’s back … and finished with eight years of service in the Army
Reserves … Matt will once again be performing the life-saving heart
screenings that Valley Baptist offers for Valley residents.
Matt left VBMC for his Army duty on Feb. 4, 2003 and arrived in
Kuwait on March 23, 2003. On October 1, 2003, he was sent into Iraq.
Matt remained in Iraq until Jan. 19, 2004, when he was able to take a
two-week leave and visit Ireland, Germany, and Rome. In Rome, he had an
audience with Pope John Paul II. “That was my most memorable experience
… it was a hard way to go to see the Pope, but it was very memorable,
and very spiritually uplifting,” Matt said.
On Feb. 2, his 26th birthday, Matt flew back into the Iraqi desert
for his final stint of duty. Matt worked with an Army security unit in
the Nasiriyah area, which is in the Shiite Muslim area of Iraq. “The
people there were mainly Shiites and very friendly .. they were very
supportive of us. They told us that Saddam Hussein feared the people of
Nasiriyah, because they were very strong and they stayed together.”
Matt vividly recalls the day when U.S. troops captured Saddam. “It
was such a huge morale booster. We packed 200 people into a tent that
holds 50 people, to see television coverage of the capture. People were
running through the tent, informing other people that he was captured.
That was a fun day …. It was a good day,” Matt added.
Matt’s unit patrolled the highways a few mile outside of Nasiriyah,
and one of their main duties was to wave away people who came too close
to the Army trucks or other military equipment.
While there was occasional shooting in the Nasiriyah area, Matt said
he had no close calls … “at least not compared to what’s going on in the
Baghdad area … we had a few weapons that went our way once in a while,
but not in comparison to what happened elsewhere … it’s no use to share
those stories because there are other people who are going through far
worse than what I did,” Matt added.
Matt has offered his emotional support for the many Valley Baptist
employees who have loved ones who are still in Iraq. “A lot of people
from the hospital know people over there, or people who just came back,
so everyone’s going through it. I’m thankful I made it back; I
appreciate that their family members are still there … hopefully
everything will be all right when they get home.”
Matt said that when a soldier receives a package in Iraq, “it’s gone
within a matter of minutes” because the soldiers share food and other
items with fellow soldiers who may not have received a package from
home.
“The best thing about being over there was the camaraderie with the
guys … we had people from across the country … California, Utah,
Minnesota, Illinois, Kentucky … I’ll never forget the friendships we
developed with people from all around the country. I’ll call those guys
and e-mail them; these are friendships we won’t forget.”
While in Kuwait, Matt served as squad leader for an Army chemical
unit whose job was to decontaminate and wash down equipment and vehicles
coming out of Iraq. The unit was also available to decontaminate
soldiers in case of a chemical attack, but fortunately they weren’t
needed for that task. “It’s a very good thing in this case … that we
didn’t have to do our job,” Matt said.
Matt brought back plenty of pictures from Iraq, including pictures of
some of the Iraqi Bendoin shepherds, who were herding their sheep in the
desert. “They’re going to keep doing that … they’re not going to
change,” he said of the Iraqi shepherds. “They were very friendly, and
very tough people.”
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