Posted: 3/26/03

FL woman awaits news about brother serving with 101st Airborne in Iraq

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Somewhere in or near the Iraqi desert. Thatís about all Sheila Puyleart knows about her brother, Capt. Matthew Konz, an infantry commander with the 101st Airborne division.

ìSince things started, we havenít heard anything,î Puyleart said last week from her Forest Lake home as American and British forces engaged Iraqi forces as the drive to Baghdad commenced.

For Puyleart, the whereabouts of relatives taking part in the war against Saddam Hussein is a mystery. Across the country, family members huddle around televisions for news about battles and the movement of troops.

Capt. Konz, 31, of Minden, Iowa, was deployed in Kuwait on March 2 and was awaiting his battle orders when the family last heard from him by e-mail on March 19, Puyleart said. In the e-mail, she said, her brother was brief and could offer little details other than to say he was busy ìsleeping, eating, training and debriefing.î

Military service has been a large part of Konzís life, his sister said. He joined the National Guard in 1989 at age 18 after graduating from high school in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He went active with the Army in the late 1990s and was allowed to attend college on a full-time basis.

He graduated from Auburn University in Alabama in 2000 with a degree in history before assuming his regular Army duties with the 101st Airborne, his sister said.

ìHe has a strong sense of patriotism,î Puyleart said. ìHe knows why we are there (Iraq). His goal is to take one mission at a time. Heíll do that until he can come home.î

While Puyleart waits and wonders at home in Forest Lake, the same routine is being repeated at home in Iowa by her parents, Jerry and Sandy Konz.

ìObviously there is stress and tension,î Puyleart said, speaking for the family.

Times at home

While the television is almost a daily partner for Puyleart, there are times, she says, when there is an overload of information. She prays the media coverage of the war is not presenting information that will help the Iraqis who await the advance of coalition fighting forces.

Puyleart says the war protests taking place in Minnesota and around the country are frustrating to those who have family in the fighting zone.

ìItís been hard (to watch),î she said. ìI understand people want our troops to come home. Our relatives know why they are there.î

She understands the right to protest and respects that right. But she hopes those protesting donít forget why they have those rights. Similar demonstrations in Iraq would not be tolerated, she says, and those speaking out would put their lives at risk in Iraq, Puyleart said.

She believes the goal of freeing the Iraqi people with force is the only way the country will be liberated. ìThere is nobody who is pro-war,î she said.

After watching her brother serve in Bosnia with peacekeeping troops, Puyleart is familiar with overseas duty risks, but knows Bosnia is not Iraq. ìThis is a whole new ballgame,î she said.

FL rally

The Puylearts are one-year residents of Forest Lake. Sheila and Todd Puyleart moved here to be closer to Toddís job with Polaris in Osceola, WI.

Mom and young daughter Sarah were at American Legion Post 225 on March 10 for a rally to support the troops and the families.

While Forest Lake is much larger than the 500 people who live in Minden, Puyleart said the rally made her feel part of the community, something not unlike her hometown.

ìI was thrilled that they had a good turnout and there was no issue of people protesting,î she said. ìIt was wonderful.î

As coalition troops continue in their mission to liberate the Iraqi people and rid the country of its dictator, Puyleart hopes those dissenting will at least show support for the fighting men and women in Iraq. She hopes more communities like Forest Lake will step up to do their part, too.

ìI wish more communities would show their support.î

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