By Michael D. Clark
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Army Spc. Jeff Klein, who was lost in the Iraqi desert for a week and saved by Marines, salutes his fellow Independence residents as grand marshal of the town's Fourth of July parade Friday. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

INDEPENDENCE - The irony wasn't lost on hometown war hero Jeff Klein as he rode atop an armored Humvee on Friday waving and saluting to the more than 2,000 residents during this city's Fourth of July parade.

After all, it was a broken down Army Humvee, stuck deep in the sands of Iraq's southern desert, that started the 21-year-old Army mechanic's adventure of being stranded with a fellow soldier for a week in April.

Living on rations that he and Sgt. Matthew Koppi generously shared with Iraqi refugees who passed by, sleeping in a trench in shifts while the other stood armed guard, Klein dreamed of reuniting with his pregnant wife, DeAnna, and his Kenton County family.

But he never dreamed he would be welcomed back home on America's 227th birthday as the grand marshal for Independence's holiday parade.

And Klein never imagined he would do so riding on, of all vehicles, a Humvee.

Laughing about it in his family's home before the parade, he confessed, "I really have mixed feelings about Humvees."

The modest Dixie Heights High School graduate said he was overwhelmed by the honor of leading one of the Tristate's most popular Independence Day parades. Klein, who holds the rank of Army specialist, is on a short leave from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.

He was a reluctant grand marshal. Instead of talking about himself, or the national publicity in April surrounding his ordeal in the desert, Klein felt more comfortable discussing the fervent patriotism of his hometown's 15,000 people for all of America's men and women serving in the armed forces.

And he spoke of his refreshed love of Independence and his country.

"I can't thank them enough for all their support, and I know everyone here will keep the soldiers still overseas in their prayers,'' Klein said. "This is an amazing country. I think that if everyone who complains about America would go to Iraq they would never complain again.

"And," he added, "they would kiss the ground when they got back home."

Klein, dressed in his Army desert fatigues, ended his first stint as a parade grand marshal by blowing a kiss to his wife, herself an Army private. She is due to give birth next month to their first child.

DeAnna Klein gazed down the city's main street, Madison, which was lined with young and old citizens waiting patiently in 90-plus degree sun, and said, "This is awesome. ... This city is very patriotic."

That's old news around this Kentucky community, said Darian Sasher, an Independence native, as she sat with her husband, Fred, on a shaded bench in front of historic Kenton County Courthouse awaiting the parade.

"The country as a whole is feeling more patriotic," said Sasher, whose 13-year-old daughter, Karina Morgan, was among Simon Kenton High School band members marching.

She praised the city's annual parade, noting that "there is really very little left in our culture that keeps us coming together and associating as a community like this."

Fellow Independence native Rick Zornes has always been a big fan of the parade, calling it "probably the biggest thing we have around here" adding that the city is aptly named given its zeal for American freedom.

"That's the truth. We fly the flag proudly around here," said Zornes.

Duran Sheets is a relative newcomer to the city, having lived here for only a few years. But he was especially impressed with city officials' choice of Klein as the parade's figurehead.

"I think it's really cool. He has a fascinating story and it was very fitting," said Sheets, himself a military reservist, while admiring the dozens of large American flags decorating the parade's final stop.

"There is real sense of patriotism around here. It reminds of the way America used to be."

E-mail mclark@enquirer.com