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Riceville soldier in Afghanistan meets up with Osage native
by Warren Haacke, Press-News Reporter
Ron Norman of Riceville contacted the Press-News with a story he thought would make great reading and also point out just how "small" the world can seem at times.
But first, the story of a very patriotic young man.
Norman and his wife Sue are the parents of a son Billy. Billy is a Army Airborne Ranger Sergeant 1st Class (E-7) stationed out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He is presently on his 4th tour of duty in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
Norman graduated from Riceville High School in 1995. While in high school he lettered in football, basketball, track, and baseball. He was on the 1993 Riceville State Champion football team.
Norman spent a year at Upper Iowa before enlisting in the Army on June 1, 1996.
In February 1996 he decided to enlist in the Army for six years and chose the field of food preparation since he always liked to cook.
He was sworn into the Army on June 1, 1996. He went to boot camp at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. After boot camp he attended schooling at Fort Lee, Virginia to become an Army cook. At the completion of cooking school he was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas for three years as a cook in the chow hall.
He was then transferred to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii where he was also a cook for three years in the chow hall.
In September 2002 Norman re-enlisted for two years of service on the USS Arizona Memorial. In February 2003 he was transferred to Fort Lewis, Washington. He was stationed awith a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Company) company. On March 1, 2003 his company was deployed to Kuwait for six months. He was at that time assigned other duties by the U.S.Army.
In July 2004 Norman re-enlisted for two more years of service. In December 2004 he and his MASH Company were sent to Camp Dodge, Tagi, Iraq (12 miles north of Baghdad) for 11 months. While stationed in Iraq, a big change took place in Norman's life.
In February 2005 he re-enlisted for six more years while at Camp Dodge in Iraq and chose to go into parachute training and Ranger school.
According to his father Ron, Norman felt he wanted to do more for his country and he felt being a Ranger would fulfill that desire.
In October 2006 he went to Parachute Training School in Fort Benning, Georgia. He made five jumps before his graduation from the three-week school.
He then transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he is now stationed.
He went back to Iraq for five months in May 2007 where he was stationed in the Green Zone in Baghdad.
In April 2008 Norman entered the Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia. After a 12-week course, he graduated on July 3, 2008. The unit started with 580 soldiers and only 238 graduated and made it through the intense Ranger program.
Norman left in September 2008 for a five-month tour of duty at Bagram Air Force, Afghanistan. He plans on returning to Fort Bragg sometime in January. It is his 4th tour of overseas duty.
According to Ron, Billy cannot tell anyone in his family what his duties are while stationed in Afghanistan. All of his Ranger missions are classified.
While on duty in Afghanistan Norman's story now takes a slightly different direction and twist.
On the base Norman met another Iowan. Jon Mueller is a former Osage resident who now resides in Font-de-Lac, Wisconsin.
Jon worked as a manager at Kwik Star in Osage back in the 1990s when the business first opened in the community.
Mueller later left Osage to move to Wisconsin where he became a plumber. He is married and he and his wife Kathy have five children.
When the building industry took a big hit because of the present problems in the economy, Mueller took a job as a construction foreman for KBR Industries at Belgram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.
Ron Norman said that Mueller contacted him through mutual friends, Dan and Polly Lilly of Riceville, with the following story about his experiences in Afghanistan.
"I have gained much experience and many friends from around the world while working in Afghanistan," said Mueller. "I have developed some great relationships with the soldiers on the base."
Mueller continued, "One guy that I particularly like was wearing a Hawkeye lanyard to work one day. I asked him if he was from Iowa. He said his name was Billy Norman and he was from a little town that I probably had never heard of," said Mueller. "It turns out he was from Saratoga, which is close to Riceville."
"After we made the Riceville/Osage connection, we had a good time talking about things like Lake Hendricks and Petitt's Café," Mueller said. "He said he graduated from high School in 1995. We don't remember each other from back then but Billy said he did come into my Kwik Star store very often on the weekends."
Mueller continued on as he wrote to the Lilly's.
"Billy is an excellent soldier doing a extraordinary job for his unit here in Afghanistan. I have come to respect and appreciate him very much.
If you do know his family please pass on this message. They should be so proud of him and his unit for their efforts. They should also be proud that he is representing Riceville and Iowa very well."
Mueller went on, "I know there was some family hardship for Billy in November and that he was allowed leave Afghanistan for awhile. I believe it had something to do with his grandfather. I didn't know when he went home for that leave where he was from yet. All of us at the base did miss him very much while he was gone though."
"I hope all is well with your family (the Lilly's)," said Mueller. "This has been a difficult year for us. I am able to call home every night and talk to Kathy and the kids. I will be on leave at the end of January for two weeks. I can't wait to come home."
Even though Norman can't tell his family much about his activities in Afghanistan, Ron Norman said his son is very proud to be a Ranger and wear the Ranger insignia.
Norman has been in the service for 12 1/2 years and when his present enlistment is up he will have served 15 years.
According to Ron, Billy is planning on staying in the Army and serving his country for at least a total of 20 years.
Story created Jan 12, 2009 - 16:35:39 CST.
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