By Sarah Schillaci
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
PATERSON, N.J. — Firefighter Leonardo Enriquez smiled when asked if he was attending his first beefsteak.
“With these guys? I’ve been to hundreds,” said Enriquez, 24, a Paterson native nicknamed “Monk” by his co-workers for his quiet demeanor.
But for Enriquez, Thursday night’s fund-raiser was definitely his first time eating at a beefsteak held in his very honor.
In June, Enriquez will be among the nearly 3,000 New Jersey National Guard soldiers deployed to Iraq for the next year. The deployment, which involves nearly half of the state’s Guard members, is the largest in New Jersey National Guard history.
Enriquez joined the National Guard in 2000, when he was 17, and is now a sergeant.
William Filippelli, president of the Paterson firefighters union, said the goal of the dinner was to raise money to send Enriquez on a 10-day vacation before his deployment.
Firefighter Dave Coughlin, who works in the same station as Enriquez and helped organize the beefsteak, put it another way.
“It’ll let him relax before he goes to total hell,” said Coughlin, a Navy veteran.
The Paterson union isn’t the only department to mobilize in support of service members. Clifton’s Local 21 is in the midst of a T-shirt sale, in which the purchase of one shirt for $15 will send two shirts overseas with the Guard.
“We have members who have gone over and served,” said acting Clifton Fire Chief Jeffrey Adams. “We’re always looking to support the troops.”
Clifton firefighter and New York National Guard member Anthony Latona said public safety officers often come from military backgrounds, making them stronger supporters of the armed forces. Latona served in Iraq in 2005 in a fire rescue unit.
“My civilian job goes over to the military side,” said Latona, a master sergeant supervisor. “The training I got there helps me in Clifton.”
There are some things, though, that don’t compare.
“In the civilian fire department, you don’t have to put on a bulletproof vest,” said Latona.
In Paterson, some of the firefighters worried about how Enriquez would fare in the war zone.
“He’s a gung-ho guy,” said Coughlin. “I kind of worry about him being gung-ho over there.”
In Paterson, Enriquez is one of the youngest firefighters, and the youngest in his station.
“He never complains, he clears your plate before you’re done eating,” said Coughlin.
That will change in a few weeks for the Monk.
“There, I’m in charge of soldiers,” said Enriquez. “Here, I’m under their wing.”
Copyright 2008 The New Jersey Journal