HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga. - When Sgt. Lauren Manuel, a wheeled vehicle mechanic in the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, came back to her bunk the morning of Feb. 25, she was ready to bed down. Precious sleep was foremost on her mind after returning from an early-morning shift in the middle of a 10-day battalion field training exercise. But before slipping away from the swampy field site for a few hours of rest, she checked her phone.
She saw four missed calls, all from her former Soldier, Cpl. Clara Surita, with whom Sgt. Manuel had deployed in 2009.
"You'll never believe what happened to me," Cpl. Surita, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist with the 429th Multifunctional Medical Battalion, said to Sgt. Manuel.
Immediately, Sgt. Manuel said her imagination was conjuring horrible images.
"I just got a call from the Secretary to the Vice President," Cpl. Surita said. "There's a Presidential dinner happening, and they're pulling people from all services to come. It's at the White House -- and I want you to come as my guest."
Sgt. Manuel said she hemmed and hawed a bit, unwilling to abandon the exercise in the field, before finally assenting to having travel orders published for her.
Four days later, on Feb. 29, Sgt. Manuel and Cpl. Surita were two of the 200 veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn honored by the black-tie dinner event "A Nation's Gratitude," hosted at the White House by President Barack Obama.
I was humbled to have been asked to come, and humbled in the face of this sort of gesture of gratitude for having served, said Sgt. Manuel, a native of Savannah, Ga.
Sergeant Manuel and Cpl. Surita met in Iraq in 2009, when they deployed together with the Brigade Troops Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Third Infantry Division. They shared quarters, and before long, became close battle buddies.
As the stresses of daily engagements outside their forward operating base took their toll, they leaned upon each other for support, said Sgt. Manuel.
One way Sgt. Manuel said she tried to divert Cpl. Surita's attention away from negative stressors was to encourage Surita to complete her naturalization process. Corporal Surita, a Peruvian immigrant, had put the process on hold as the demands of the mission consumed her energy. Manuel said she prodded her into finishing the paperwork without losing focus.
Corporal Surita was rewarded for her efforts at a naturalization ceremony, held in Saddam Hussein's Baghdad palace, and headlined by Vice President Joe Biden. General Ray Odierno, who was the commanding general of United States Forces -- Iraq at the time, singled out Cpl. Surita in his remarks as emblematic of the virtue of these new American citizens.
Two years later, when it came time to make the guest list for "A Nation's Gratitude," Cpl. Sarita's impression was not forgotten by Vice President Biden. And Cpl. Surita, in turn, did not forget her gratitude for Sgt. Manuel's steadfast and life-changing support.
Once the travel plans had been locked in, Manuel said they spent almost all their time, both before leaving Savannah and after their arrival in Washington, D.C., checking and rechecking their dress uniforms.
The 78 service members had the opportunity to tour restricted areas of the White House before the dinner. Sergeant Manuel, a self-described "history buff," took particular interest in artifacts from the Abraham Lincoln administration, as well as the oil portrait of President John F. Kennedy.
"The White House tour alone was worth the 26 months in Iraq," Sgt. Manuel said.
When the tour finished, the service members all had a chance to meet President Obama and shake his hand. First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin Dempsey were all in attendance as well, extending their gratitude for the service of the guests.
But it was Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler, said Sgt. Manuel, who most impressed her.
After the dinner, they took pictures with the Vice President before piling back into the van and heading back to the hotel. The next day they were airborne en route to Hunter Army Airfield. The day after that, Sgt. Manuel returned to the field.
Although she said she was honored to have gone to this once in a lifetime event, Sgt. Manuel said it was about Cpl. Surita first, and that she was just along for the ride.
"Really, I'm just proud we deployed together as Soldiers in the Third Infantry Division," Sgt. Manuel said. "I was glad to represent the Dog Face Soldiers at the White House."
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