Goodrich- Marine Sgt. Ryan Lopez is home’for a second time.
After enlisting in June 2005, the Goodrich High School graduate served more than a year in Ramadiyah, Iraq and completed his first tour of duty in March 2007 with a leave home.
Then, in mid-April, he returned to Camp Pendleton, Calif., before deployment to Fallujah, Iraq to finish his four-year commitment. Lopez, 22, was then welcomed back to the village on Oct. 2 with a celebration at the Bull Ring, after spending more than a year in the Middle East.
‘It’s cold here’but I’m glad to be home. The conditions are pretty good over there and the food’s not bad. But the girls over there, not so much. The contractors keep the living conditions better,? said Lopez, who was promoted to sergeant in August.
‘I always wanted to be a Marine, since I was a little boy. My dad was a Marine in the 1970s toward the end of the Vietnam War.?
Marine Sgt. Lopez, is part of the Combat Logistics Battalion 1 and serves as a landing support specialist whose duties include helicopter landing support.
‘We transported lots of generals, senators and even country music star Toby Keith,? he said. ‘We moved lots of VIPs around Iraq.?
Ryan, the son of Richard and Florence Lopez, formerly of Goodrich, is not certain if he’ll make a career of the Marine Corp. when his stint is up next year.
‘I have the option to re-enlist’but I’m just not sure yet,? he said.