Photo By Capt. Emerson Marcus | Spc. Anthony Cometa, shown here during his deployment to southwest Asia in 2004, was...... read more read more
LAS VEGAS - Nancy Cometa-Fontana made a deal with her son, Spc. Anthony Cometa, while he was deployed to Iraq in 2005.
"I promised Tony that if he came home for Christmas I would be there when his unit (the 1864th Transportation Company, Nevada National Guard) returned as a group from deployment," Cometa-Fontana said.
Upon the unit's return in 2005, Soldiers hugged Cometa-Fontana and expressed their appreciation as she handed them T-shirts reading: "Spc. Anthony S. Cometa You Are Not Forgotten."
Her son wasn't among the returning Soldiers.
Cometa died one day after his 21st birthday on June 16, 2005, manning a HMMWV machine gun turret providing convoy support. His vehicle lost control rounding a turn and flipped. Two other Nevada Guardsmen were injured, but survived the crash. Cometa was pronounced dead while being transported to a field hospital in Kuwait.
He was the first Nevada Guardsman killed serving in the Global War on Terrorism. In 2013, the Nevada Guard named the field maintenance complex at the Las Vegas Readiness Center after Cometa.
Earlier this summer, now a decade after her son's death, Cometa-Fontana, of Rochester, N.Y., visited the complex for the first time.
More than 20 active and former unit members shared stories during her visit of the facility grounds, reminiscing about her son's love of guitar and his "unforgettable laugh."
"After 10 years, I'm just so proud and amazed that you all are still honoring him," Cometa-Fontana said.
'It was surreal'
Cometa's battle buddy, Patrick Brunson, works in Texas and couldn't be at the Las Vegas Readiness Center for Cometa-Fontana's visit Friday, but he called her while she was there and keeps in touch with her often, he said. Cometa-Fontana gave Brunson her son's Bronze Star Medal during her son's funeral, which still hangs in Brunson's home in Texas as a daily reminder of his friend.
Cometa moved to Las Vegas in 1999 to live with his dad and met Brunson that same year as students at Green Valley High before Cometa left for his senior year at Silverado High.
They played in the same band and eventually joined the Nevada Army Guard together in 2003.
"We wanted signing bonuses to get more music equipment," Brunson said with a laugh.
They even joined the same unit: the 1864th.
"Sure enough we get back (from training) and (then) 1st Sgt. (Jared) Kopacki said we were getting deployed," Brunson said. "We found out during our first drill."
"(Cometa) was a very relaxed type of person during the deployment," said Brunson, who left the Army in 2013 as a staff sergeant and now works in Texas as a precious metals broker for U.S Money Reserve. "He was always playing guitar or bass or messing with music on his computer. That's what we did on our downtime. It was the only thing that kept our mind off all the other stuff going on."
During a deployment Christmas event in Kuwait, a band playing for the troops invited Cometa, Brunson and fellow friend, Spc. Jared Bryan, on stage.
"They jammed for a few hours," said Sgt. 1st Class David Ramage, who deployed with Cometa and Brunson. "The whole unit was there for a few hours listening to them play. We were there during Christmas and we were all kind of bummed out, but it was a good morale builder."
Cometa drove more than 13,000 miles on 16 missions while deployed.
"There was never a mission he turned down," said Maj. Neil Oscarson, Cometa's commander in Iraq.
"He was always the first to volunteer. We could always count on his service without reservation or hesitation," Oscarson said.
Cometa navigated some of the most dangerous roads in Iraq, his leadership said, but he always maintained an easy-going demeanor.
"He laughed at everything," Brunson said. "That's why everybody liked him. He was a fun guy to be around. Never negative. Always positive. That's why it was surreal when the incident happened. No one could believe it was him."
The 'Pact'
Cometa-Fontana has wanted to visit the maintenance complex named after her son. The recent visit came after she planned a trip to Las Vegas with her 15-year-old son, Matthew Fontana, Cometa's brother. Both shed tears upon seeing Cometa's photo at the entrance of the Las Vegas Readiness Center.
She said emotions from the loss of her son still felt raw, but she said she felt blessed his legacy lives on. She described the visit as "bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter."
Cometa-Fontana shared a story about the deal she made her son to attend his unit's return ceremony in Las Vegas in 2005.
"I'd tell him I'd be there (at the end-of-deployment ceremony) if he was home for Christmas when he returned," she said. "We had a pact."
During Christmas in 2005, six months after her son died, she heard the doorbell ring at her home in New York.
"I had just called everyone to sit down for dinner," she said. "I said, "Who is at my door?' I asked my mother-in-law to grab the front door and there wasn't anyone there. So I went to the side door thinking someone came in through the garage. No one was there either.
"I had that overwhelming feeling. I know it was my son. He was with us for Christmas."
A lasting legacy
A large, cutout photo of Cometa sits behind glass in Nevada National Guard facilities in Las Vegas and Carson City - a constant reminder of his sacrifice.
"His legacy transcends the whole state," said Col. Enrique De La Paz, who served as Cometa's battalion commander, 992nd Troop Command, in 2005. "This is important. We must never forget."
Two months after Cometa's death, a rocket-propelled grenade struck the fuel tank of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan, killing Nevada Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 John M. Flynn, of Sparks, and Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart, of Fernley. Also killed in the crash were two Oregon Army National Guardsman and an active duty Soldier.
In a three-month span in 2005, three Nevada Guard Soldiers died while on deployments to southwest Asia.
In the decade since, dozens of Nevada Guard Soldiers and Airmen have received Purple Heart Medals for injuries overseas, but none have died.
"There was a strong sense that the worst parts of war were hitting home," said Air Guard Maj. April Conway, the Nevada National Guard's public affairs officer in 2005. "We'd seen our Soldiers and Airmen deploy and go through terrible circumstances, but before Spc. Cometa died, we could at least say the absolute worst hadn't touched us."
In the years after, Soldiers explored ways to honor the fallen, said Command Sgt. Maj. Jared Kopacki, the Nevada Guard's State Command Sergeant Major and senior enlisted leader. Kopacki was the first sergeant for the 1864th when Cometa deployed in 2005.
"It's not easy getting a building named after someone," Kopacki said. "It literally takes an act of Congress. But the state owns complexes. So that's why we were able to name the maintenance shop complex after Anthony."
A memorial has also been dedicated to Flynn, Stewart and three killed Soldiers in the crew of Mustang 22 at the Nevada Guard Army Aviation Support Facility in Stead.
"It's important to remember the Soldiers," De La Paz said. "But it's also important to remember them for their mothers and fathers. We've lost fellow soldiers. They've lost children."
| Date Taken: | 09.21.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.21.2015 15:08 |
| Story ID: | 176757 |
| Location: | LAS VEGAS, NV, US |
| Web Views: | 585 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Nevada Guard honors its first Global War on Terrorism casualty, by Capt. Emerson Marcus, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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