Oak Park man returns from Iraq

John Garofolo of Oak Park returned one week ago from serving in Iraq for eight months and was welcomed by his entire block of neighbors with American flags, balloons, banners and a huge barbecue block party on Sunday evening.

A lieutenant commander in the Coast Guard Reserves, Garofolo was called to duty last December to serve in a Navy defense unit for port and harbor security on the border of Kuwait and Iraq.

His outfit was responsible for protecting all ships that unloaded in Kuwait.

"What impressed me the most was the honor and dignity of the enlisted servicemen over there," said Garofolo. "Even though what they did was often boring and mundane, and sometimes dangerous, they did their job well and that made me want to do my best."

While there, Garofolo encountered 29 missile alerts. The U.S. military worked on the assumption that every alert involved chemical warfare, so he got accustomed to wearing his chemical warfare protective suit.

Garofolo was in charge of communications and could listen to important information about incoming missiles.

Midway through Garofolo’s duty, he was switched to another position, public affairs officer and historian. He was responsible for briefing the media on military operations.

Despite the danger, the hardest aspect for Garofolo was his inability to see his 3-year-old daughter, Diana. She grew and changed almost daily.

He sent home a video of himself for Diana to watch and she quickly learned the buttons on the VCR to play and rewind her daddy on TV.

"My neighbors were so good to me while John was gone," said Garofolo’s wife, Yelena. She said her next-door neighbor took out and brought in her trashcans every week and was on call in case she found any rats in traps. "A job," she said, "he was glad he never had to do."

Janet Robertson coordinated the neighborhood’s care packages for Garofolo by placing flyers in mailboxes. "Everyone in this neighborhood gave something," Robertson said. She also coordinated Sunday’s block party which was attended by every family on the block.

The Garofolos have lived in Oak Park for four years and said they’re thankful to live in an area where people care so much.