Army dentist serving in Iraq at home for a break

John Hrabar is with family in Jackson for two weeks of rest before returning.

John Hrabar picks up his tiny Savanna, gazes at her warmly, and asks a question.

"Who do you love?"

From the way the 3-year-old smiles at her daddy, no answer is necessary. Instead, she puckers up, sweetly offering a kiss.

Moments like this one Saturday afternoon at the home of his parents in Jackson are the ones U.S. Army Staff Sgt. John Hrabar will be cherishing for the next two weeks while he's on leave after serving six months in Iraq, including a stint at Abu Ghraib, the U.S.-run detention camp.

They are also memories he'll carry with him when he returns for another six months in Iraq, where he will likely continue to dodge mortar fire and battle homesickness while working as an Army dental lab technician.

"Being home is unreal," Hrabar said at his parents' dining-room table, sitting next to his wife, Stephanie, who was his high-school sweetheart. "It's hard to describe. It's a great feeling."

On Saturday, the Hrabar family held a welcome-home bash for John, including some family members who traveled from New Jersey and Germany.

Tiny flags lined the street in front of his parents' house and red, white and blue balloons were tied to trees and the mail box. "Welcome home son," a sign on the house read.

Hrabar and his family -- including his other daughter, Madison, 6, two sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins as well as his father, John and Shirley -- spent the day eating cake, having water gun fights and catching up.

"It's wonderful having him home," Shirley Hrabar said. "He's sacrificed so much -- seeing his daughters, he didn't see one of their birthdays and his own anniversary. He's missing all that while he's risking his life for all of us."

Originally from New Jersey and later North Carolina, John, Stephanie and his daughters live in Germany, where Hrabar has spent much of his nine-year Army career. His wife and children still live there while he's stationed in Iraq.

While in Iraq, Hrabar has helped work on the teeth of soldiers and Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib and other places, though when he returns, he'll be going to Camp Victory.

"It seems like dentistry would be a safe field," Hrabar said. "But I was at Abu Ghraib on April 2."

That was the day when insurgents had a major offensive against Abu Ghraib, launching volley after volley of rockets and mortar rounds. Squads of guerrillas advanced to the walls from several directions and a suicide bomber struck a guard tower with a truck.

The attack was ultimately thwarted and no soldiers were killed, but at the time, Hrabar considered that it could be the end.

"Is this it?" he remembered thinking.

That's why he's even more appreciative of his time here at home.

"With all that's gone on over there, still the worst thing is being away from home," he said, as little Savanna hugs his leg. "You never get used to that."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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