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David J. Cloke greets his mother-in-law Linda Allen upon his arrival in Burlington. Clok surprised Allen on her evening break at Midwest Biscuit Co. in West Burlington shortly afte returning from the Persian Gulf.Soldier credits leaders’ planBy Dena Bennett The Hawk EyeThe sight of dead Iraqi soldiers is a bitter memory for U.S. Army Spc. David Cloke.“It just kind of made you wonder, why this man (Sad dam) was so crazy,” he said.Cloke, 26, was part of the 24th Infantry Division, among the first allied troops to storm into Iraq in late February as the Persian Gulf War ground battle began.The 1984 Burlington High School graduate returned to his hometown Wednesday after nearly seven months in the desert.Still fresh in Cloke’s mind is the memory of rolling across the Iraqi border that February day in a humvee. Gripping his M-16 rifle, he battled a fear of the unknown.“We didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “With your family back here, and wondering what they’re going through, it kind of gives you mixed emotions.”A self-propelled fuel artillery trac mechanic, Cloke worked with a unit that fired on Traqi targets to soften them up for an armored vehicle assault.Once in Iraq, his unit’s first destination was the Euphrates Valley. That mission was inexplicably cancelled, and the unit moved on to Toledo Air Base.“We hit that,” Cloke said. “We fired a prep (shot) with the M-109 Howitzer for the armored division to go in there, the M-l (tanks) and stuff.”Cloke remembers how allied bombing devastated Iraqi buildings and equipment.“There was lots of destruc tion, a lot of torn-up equipment,” he recalled. “We tore it all up.”From there, the unit moved on to Basra.We only fired a couple rounds there,” he said. “We fired a prep for the armored division to go back in again.Cloke said he saw “four or five” dead Iraqi soldiers along the way. Most the corpses were removed by a “clean-up crew” ahead of his unit, he said.Eight members of the 24th were killed, and 36 others were injured in the fighting. Cloke, who never had to fire his weapon, did not know any of the casualties.He was surprised by the lack of Iraqi resistance, and especially by the scores of Iraqis carrying white flags.“A lot of the Iraqi soldiers gave up,” he said. “It went so smoothly. The leaders that we have, Schwarzkopf, Bush ... they did an outstanding job in my opinion.”Even before the quick ground offensive, Cloke was confident that allied forces would score a victory.“At first everybody kind of prepared themselves for a long stay,” he said. “When you saw all that equipment moving across the desert, it was like one big finely tuned machine,” he said. “We knew from there it wouldn’t take long.”Cloke left for Saudi Arabia on Sept. 1.“At first there was a lot boredom,” he said. “Then v entered into a training phas We were pretty well traim when the war started.” Before the war, the soldie were treated to two hot mea and one MRE (meal ready eat). When the fighting bega MREs were the rule.“When the war started tl hot meals stopped.”Cloke returned March 26 Fort Stewart, Ga., where h family was waiting. After foi years of service, Cloke hi plans to reenlist in October.He brought along shrapn from an exploded Iraqi gre ade and Saudi Arabian mom as souvenirs.Cloke, the son of Dani W’iele and Helen Wiele, boi of Burlington, met his futu wife, then Candy Bowma while in ninth grade.The couple are now tl parents of two children, Sar antha, 5, and Stephanie, 3.They were really excited Cloke said, referring to h children. They were jumpir up and down yelling when v walked across the base.”On Wednesday, Cloke su prised his mother-in-lav Linda Allen, at work at Mi west Biscuit Co.“It’s nice to see him hon safe,” Allen said this mornin During the war, Alle feared for her son-in-law’s lift “I was scared, reall scared,” she said. “We didn know if he was going to 1 safe.“I watched every TV pr gram there was. It sure wi good to see him home.”
Newspaper Details
Burlington Hawk Eye
Burlington, Iowa, US
Thu, Apr 04, 1991
Page 3
Full Page
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