April 3, 2007 - 12:00AM
Back from Iraq at last
CHRISSY VICK
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Cpl. Noe Aguirre has never been on the other side of the bus.
He's always been the one arriving to be greeted with hugs from friends and family at homecomings for 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. But Monday, Aguirre was the one welcoming about 270 Marines and sailors home from Iraq.
Aguirre, 22, of Hollywood, was brought back to the U.S. after being wounded by an improvised explosive device in November. He now lives at the Wounded Warrior Barracks at CampLejeune.
"I'm excited, but at the same time I wish I was with them," Aguirre said while awaiting his fellow Marines' return. "A year ago I was the one on the bus coming in and seeing all of my family and friends cheering and holding signs. It was such a great feeling."
Monday, Aguirre was one of five wounded 2nd LAR Marines waiting, cheering and looking for the bus on the horizon. And although none of them are related to the Marines stepping off the buses, each considers them brothers.
It's a bond many of 2nd LAR's wounded said made the fight worth it.
"This is what it's all about, seeing my boys," said Cpl. Harley Herron, 21, wounded in the same blast as Aguirre. "They're family. We understand each other and watch out for each other."
Aguirre and Herron greeted fellow troops with big bear hugs as they stepped off the buses, but Aguirre was searching the crowds for one Marine in particular. He was eager to say thanks to Lance Cpl. Maurizio Denichilo, the man Aguirre says saved his life the day he was hit by an IED.
"If it wasn't for Denichilo, I'd have lost my leg and arm," Aguirre said. "He put a tourniquet on my leg and arm and stayed by me the whole time. He wouldn't let me go to sleep, which probably saved my life when I was losing so much blood."
When Denichilo stepped off one of six buses, he was also searching for Aguirre to see how his friend was doing in his recovery. The two laughed and hugged when they finally found each other in the crowd.
Denichilo was quick to claim he was no hero.
"I didn't save his life, he helped me," Denichilo said after returning home from a seven-month deployment in Al Anbar province. "We were walking through on a regular patrol and didn't see (the IED) coming. I was stunned for a moment."
Denichilo remembered finding the Marine closest to him to see if he was hurt. That Marine was Aguirre, whose leg and arm were bleeding heavily.
"You react out of pure instinct," Denichilo said. "I was really nervous because it had never happened to me before. Aguirre calmed me down and walked me through the tourniquet and other first aid. I couldn't have done it without him."
That's the bond of Marines, especially during wartime, according to 2nd LAR's wounded.
"You develop a much stronger bond when in country because it's so much more stressful," said Lance Cpl. Adam Turner, who received severe back and neck injuries when his Humvee hit an IED last year. "It's not like you can call home everyday. Those guys become your family."
Sgt. Robert Holzinger Jr., 29, said he was excited to see his band of brothers arrive home safely.
"The worst part is leaving them," said Holzinger, severely wounded in an IED blast on Nov. 11. "You know you're better with them there. It makes you stronger being all together."
Holzinger was reunited with his friend Cpl. Jim Niemie, who returned home this week. Niemie says when a fellow Marine is wounded and leaves the battalion, the hole is never filled.
"Today is the first time I've seen Holzinger and it's just so good to see how he's doing," he said. "I know it's been tough for him being back here and us being gone. You become family, so when one leaves you notice. You never forget."
Contact Chrissy Vick at or 353-1171, Ext. 239.