Sgt. Rene Arbizu’s homecoming from Iraq was long overdue.
Sgt. Rene Arbizu’s homecoming from Iraq was long overdue.
Deployed with the Army Reserve 341st Military Police Company last March, Arbizu, 25, thought he’d be home by Halloween. Halloween stretched into Christmas. Then, rumors spread of a March homecoming, then April. He finally arrived home Saturday.
Arbizu wasn’t sure he would even be making the trip last week “until we got on a plane to go to Fort Worth,” he said. “Because up until then, they kept saying – as always – it could change. And so we were just constantly waiting.”
Arbizu’s wife, Jenny, tried not to get too excited about the news that her husband of almost two years could soon be home after more than a year overseas.
But it hit her Saturday morning, when she arrived at Moffett Field and, along with other relatives, joined throngs of mothers, fathers, children and wives to greet the 130 soldiers. Military Police held the excited crowd back while the plane taxied in. Jenny and family held a banner reading, “Welcome Home, Rene,” and were decked out in red, white and blue with yellow ribbons and American flags.
“Just so much emotion built up,” said Jenny, 28. “Every time we saw a bit of that plane, we just started shouting.”
It was a ceremonial homecoming: U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) and San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales both greeted the soldiers as their names were called and they stepped off the plane one by one.
“I ran up to him,” Jenny said. “I didn’t find out until later that I wasn’t supposed to do that.”
“It’s nice to be home,” said Arbizu Tuesday morning, after relaxing for most of Sunday and Monday.
He’s been enjoying the little things.
“Sleeping in a bed, taking a shower – alone, eating good food, just being able to relax, like sitting on the couch and watching TV,” he said.
He and Jenny plan to move into their first home in Hollister next Monday, where they look forward to truly spending married life together. In that way, Rene’s absence was a blessing.
“Luckily, we were able to save money,” Jenny said. “Somehow, I don’t know how. I don’t know if we would have been able to do that if he were home.”
With Rene’s deployment, the two have spent more married life apart than they have together. Both their birthdays came and went while they were separated last month, as they did last year.
“That would hit me every once in a while because we were doing a lot of driving and during the drive, there was nothing really to do,” Rene said.
“We were watching but there was a lot of thinking going on. … And I remember sitting there one day and thinking, ‘OK, I’ve been here longer than I actually spent time with my wife before I left.'”
That doesn’t show when the two are together. With their second anniversary coming up next month, they echo each other’s thoughts and finish each other’s sentences.
“I can’t say that I hoped to go to war, but I wanted to do my part,” Arbizu said. “I can’t say that I’m glad I left, but it feels good that I did my duty.”
“I’m proud of him. … Things work out for a reason,” Jenny said, particularly being able to save up for a home. “Monetary things aside, I think it’s made us stronger. I think every couple kind of needs something. Now I know I can withstand anything.”
Readjusting to civilian life has involved catching up on numerous reality shows, the low-carb craze and even brightly colored fashions in the mall.
But it also has meant getting re-accustomed to the safety of America: not needing a gun when walking down the street and wearing “civilian” clothes instead of the camouflage that has made up his wardrobe for the past 15 months.
The transition has been easier than it was when he came home for a two-week stay with no down-time beforehand.
“We had some time to relax while we were there, before coming back, so it gave us a chance to transition from the high-stress pace to actually relaxing,” he said.
Rene, a community service officer with the Gilroy Police Department, was one semester away from earning an administration of justice degree from San Jose State University at the time he was deployed.
Returning reservists are allowed a three-month hiatus before returning to work, which Arbizu plans to spend with Jenny, also on summer vacation from her job as a second-grade teacher at Glen View Elementary School. He said he does look forward to returning to work and he still plans to join GPD.
The timing of Rene’s homecoming – the day before Father’s Day – was particularly special for his dad, Maurice Arbizu.
“I had a terrific Father’s Day,” he said. “There’s just not enough words.”
Rene Arbizu spent Sunday afternoon at a large family get-together in Gilroy. It was the first time since he was deployed that he and his three brothers and sisters were together.
“That was neat because last year that didn’t happen, because Rene was stuck out there in Iraq,” Maurice Arbizu said.
