Love in times of war

Soldiers marry during leave from Iraq, By Pamela Chergotis Goshen — Some of the world’s most memorable love stories are set in times of war. Here’s one for our time, and our place. Armando Velez, 29, and Tamara Rolon, 25, met about a year and a half ago while serving with the 411th Engineers Brigade. They fell in love — ”gradually over time,” Tamara said — and got engaged in 2006, at about the time they were mobilized. They wanted to marry in the States, but found it tough to make wedding arrangements long distance, from their base near Balad in Iraq. They flew home to Middletown to take a leave of about a week and a half, but had not expected to marry during this brief respite from the war. They did, however, go to Goshen Town Hall to get a marriage license, just to start the process along. And then they started to get ideas. With some help and guidance from Goshen councilman Ken Newbold (“They’re calling me ‘the wedding planner,’” Newbold joked) and the staff at town hall, the couple found themselves asking, Why not just marry now, and wait until later for a real wedding? With no time to waste, many people in the community got into gear to make the couple’s wish come true. Little more than a day after deciding they would marry while on leave, Armando and Tamara stood before Scott Wohl, the mayor of the Village of Goshen, and spoke their vows. Outside, the season’s first snow fell, turning the scene beyond the windows white. Several dignitaries attended the quickly arranged ceremony on Jan. 18, including town supervisor Doug Bloomfield and Goshen resident Pete Rollins of the Disabled Veterans of America. Rollins told the couple after the ceremony that as American soldiers, they were already part of a family that would last for the rest of their lives. A representative from the office of the county executive, Ed Diana, presented the couple with an overnight stay at the Hambletonian House in Chester, a gift bestowed by the proprietor of the bed and breakfast, Rosemary Eckard. (The couple plans to take advantage of the offer when they return home for good.) A few days later, on Sunday, the two soldiers were scheduled to fly back to Iraq. They are both in the middle of their first tour, which Tamara said is “kind of scary at times.” Although they do not leave their base, “knowing you are in Iraq is scary enough,” she said. The two are due to return home in September or October — “hopefully, if we don’t get extended,” Tamara said. Then they will have a proper wedding, with friends, family, and all the trimmings. Armando and Tamara have formed an especially close bond because of their common experience in wartime. “It’s nice to know you have somebody,” Armando said. “We know what’s going on (in Iraq), so we can sympathize with each other.”