By Howard Wilkinson
The Cincinnati Enquirer

M. Schmalle

P. Schmalle

Cordova

Brooksbank

Rogers

Thomas

Martini

When Pat and Vicki Schmalle's sons, Patrick and Michael, were little boys, their father would gather them in the back yard of their Cleves home on the Fourth of July to shoot off bottle rockets, and their mother would worry that they would get hurt.

But the innocence of a few backyard fireworks pales in comparison to what worries her today - both of her sons are grown and are soldiers in the U.S. Army, still in the heart of Iraq, still in danger, still living in a world of rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire.

"I've learned that bottle rockets aren't so dangerous after all," Vicki Schmalle said.

Two stars on a velvet background hang in the window of the Schmalles' home:

One for Patrick, a 21-year-old private in the 2nd Chemical Battalion, 13th Corps Support Command, based in Fort Hood, Texas.

Another for 19-year-old Michael, a private in the 1st Armored Division, whose unit has been patrolling Iraqi towns in search of enemy weapons caches and the henchmen of Saddam Hussein.

The Schmalle boys are part of a tightknit group of young men from the small village on the Ohio River who played sports and wiled away summers together since they were small children, and who all went into the military service after graduation from Taylor High School.

Now, they are spread out around the world.

Patrick Schmalle was the first to go, signing up for the Army after leaving Taylor in June 2000.

His brother Michael was next, graduating in 2002 and following in his brother's footsteps. Michael was inspired by Patrick's example and deeply affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America.

Michael's best friend, Dale Thomas, went too; today he serves with Michael in the same unit in Iraq.

Four others quickly followed - Nathan Rogers, who entered the Army and is serving in Germany; Joe Brooksbank, who entered the Air Force and is with an intelligence unit in Japan; Seth Martini, an airman with a medical unit at Eglin Air Force Base; and Jon Cordova, who just finished basic training at Fort Knox and might soon ship out to Korea.

Having a son or daughter halfway around the world is hard for anyone; for the Schmalles, though, the wait has become excruciating.

"Not a day goes by that we don't think of them," said Pat Schmalle. "With every headline about another soldier being killed, we stop and listen and pray for them."

They send care packages to their boys regularly; every once in a while, a hastily written letter from Iraq arrives in the Schmalle mailbox.

"They are doing fine, but it sounds like they are ready to come home," Pat Schmalle said.

Michael wrote of going on patrols, looking for weapons and members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. His unit, he said, captured two of the former Iraqi leaders included in the famous deck of cards.

Both have told their parents of the extreme poverty they have witnessed in Iraq. In one letter, Patrick described being invited to lunch with an Iraqi family, sharing a meager meal of lamb and rice with several people eating from a single bowl.

"I think that has made more of an impression on them than anything else," Vicki Schmalle said. "They have seen how fortunate we are in this country."

While the Schmalles wait, holidays and birthdays go by. This year, the Fourth of July was not a day of joyous celebration at the Schmalle home.

Pat and Vicki spent the day with water buckets and hoses, washing the family cars, trying to avoid the news.

"We just washed and washed, trying to keep our minds off it for a while," Vicki Schmalle said. "Anything to keep busy. Because when you are not busy, you can't take your mind off them."

E-mail hwilkinson@enquirer.com