BAGHDAD- December 21, 1989 was a bright sunny day in the capital city of Bucharest, Romania. Silviu Dumitru was a nine-year old boy born and raised in Bucharest. He remembers the day as if it happened yesterday. History also remembers the day well, for on that day, riots broke out across Romania, beginning in the smaller cities and finally reaching the capital where Dumitru lived.
"I remember the tanks rolling by in the street next to our Bucharest apartment and hearing the gunshots," said Dumitru. "I remember watching the protests and the fighting in the streets on the television, which carried it all live. I watched the footage of the hours-long trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceausecu [the deposed dictator and his wife], which I haven't been able to find since."
Today Silviu 'Sly' Dumitru, is a specialist in the U.S. Army serving as a scout with the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 63rd Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad.
In June 1990 Dumitru's stepfather, Emilian Padurariu, left for America after the regime fell and the borders opened. Dumitru's parents remained married, but it wasn't until 2001 when Padurariu, with a good job and a green card, could send for his wife and stepson to join him in Florida. The family had not seen each other in over a decade.
"I had studied, but never spoke English before arriving in America." Luckily, Dumitru proved a quick study and adapted well. A few years later, he left Florida and set out on his own in Colorado.
"I missed the mountains and the seasons of Romania, which Florida did not have," said Dumitru. Between the years of 2001 through 2006, Dumitru worked in construction and audio/visual programming before he decided he wanted to join the Army.
"I enlisted because the military was something I had always wanted to try. I craved the adventurous side of it. I also joined out of a desire to help the country to which my family owed so much." He was not yet a citizen when he took the oath, but the military service made obtaining his U.S. citizenship easier.
Dumitru took well to the military, excelling early. "There is no language barrier with Spc. Dumitru," said Sgt. 1st Class Kohunsky, a scout platoon sergeant with 1st CAB, 63rd Armd. Regt. "He just knows how to Soldier, to Soldier extremely well."
His exposure to the tanks and infantry columns during the revolution did not dissuade Dumitru from military service; truth be told, it was not even a factor. Dumitru's wife however, a native of the Western Romanian city of Cluj who he had met in Colorado, was not so acceptant.
She remembered the fighting that had hit her city hard, and the Fort Riley display tanks at the entrance of the fort with their cannons aimed toward the roads were a shock upon her first visit to Fort Riley. She has since adjusted to military life, but the eerie feeling still sometimes catches her by surprise.
Iraq was not Dumitru's first choice of deployments. "Initially, I wanted to go to Afghanistan to see the mountains," he said.
While the cultures are obviously quite different, Dumitru is able to draw a few parallels. "The Iraq and Romanian country-sides are similar. The lack of indoor plumbing and the small propane generators remind me of the areas outside Bucharest."
There is also the matter of the mission. Since the insurgency is in its last throws, the platoon focuses more and more of its attention to the non-lethal fight. A Soldier who had witnessed the violent transformation of a Soviet state as a young boy now has a hand in delivering essential services and safeguarding democracy for the Iraqi people.
It might not have the appeal of a high intensity conflict, but there is certain satisfaction that comes to Dumitru in seeing his life's experiences coming full circle.
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