By ROBIN SHANNON
Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – Donavon Pierre, 26, once a track and field standout at West St. John High School, had spent most of his early life in Edgard. He had always thought of it as “the greatest place in the world,” until he reached his high school years and everything suddenly seemed different.

“Things started getting pretty rough,” said Pierre. “My parents were separated and I moved in with my grandfather and late grandmother. I started seeing the same people doing the same things over and over not making anything of their lives.”

Pierre explained that he was watching the people around him, the people that mattered to him, get heavy into drugs and alcohol. He watched his friends get into trouble on a daily basis.

“They all had some kind of goal and plan for their future,” said Pierre. ”But once they got hold of that ‘gateway drug’ they lost a lot of great opportunities.”

Instead of falling in with the crowd, Pierre said he looked for guidance to escape from “becoming a statistic.” He said he was able to find a mentor in his high school track coach Lennix Madere.

“He pounded stories in my head about all the people that said they were going to make it in life but failed because of drugs and being undisciplined,” said Pierre. “I then realized that the stories were about the same people I was seeing everyday, and I realized that I needed to make a change.”

Pierre survived high school and graduated from West St. John High in May of 2000. After graduation, he spent his first summer out of school working for Duck’s Ice Company in Edgard. When summer came to an end, Pierre said he took some time off to spend a few days with his grandmother in LaPlace. It was then that he got the call that really changed his life.

“An Army recruiter was on the line,” said Pierre. “He was asking me how interested I would I be. I told him just a little, so he gave me his number, and I called him a few days later to see what I was really being offered.”

Pierre said he was offered a chance to pursue a career in whatever he chose. He said the recruiter told him he would learn to be self-sufficient at a young age. He’d also get an opportunity to travel.

“Even with all the opportunities, I didn’t want to do it at first,” Said Pierre. “I recalled what happened when my brother Mark had joined the Navy a year before. I remembered the look on his face the day he got hauled off for training. He cried a little and looked at us like if he wasn’t ever going to come back. But if ask him now, he says he doesn’t regret it at all and I don’t either.”

Pierre entered the Army Reserves that August and was stationed at the 377 TSC Unit out of New Orleans. His down time didn’t last long, because he would end up being called to active duty almost a year later following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

“We deployed in January of 2003 to Kuwait to set up and support the initial push into Iraq following the attacks,” said Pierre. “I was in Kuwait during the fall of Baghdad. My unit at the time was responsible for supporting our soldiers in Iraq. I came home after six months to be home for my son’s birth but went back to active duty seven months later.”

In May of 2004, Pierre was sent to the 18th Engineer Brigade out of Heidelberg, Germany. On his first day out the Unit got orders for a one-month deployment to Bulgaria for a Field Training Exercise. He was then sent to Afghanistan for 12 months, where he stayed until April of 2006.

“Somewhere in between leaving Afghanistan and heading back to Germany, I re-enlisted to stay in the Army for six more years with the same unit,” said Pierre. “Another year went by and orders came down for another deployment back to Iraq.”

Pierre, who is now classified as Sergeant (Promotable), serves as a Squad Leader for the Brigade’s Combat Security Team. His job consists of escorting and protecting his Commander throughout Iraq while on missions. Needless to say, he stays busy.

“Six months here and we already have over 8,000 miles on the roads,” said Pierre. “Busy isn’t the word for it. I have a Commander who always wants to go on missions. We get mortar attacks often out here and we do our best to stay safe, but every now and then we get unlucky. We had an attack a few days ago where two people were killed here on base. Bad men out here want us gone.”

During his down time, Pierre says he sits back and reflects on his decision to join the Army, often wondering if he made the right choice. He get’s a sobering reminder every time he returns home.

“I still see the same people doing the same things they were doing when I left and now they are joined by some of my childhood friends,” said Pierre. “These are guys I used to ask for sodas from the store when I was growing up because they always had money. Now, over 10 years later, they are asking me for the help. It’s just a shame how things turned out for a lot of them.”

Pierre also gets a ton of support from his entire family, who has been there throughout his four deployments and helps him deal with the hardships.

“I thank them everyday for it, and my reward to them is they can sleep safe at night because I am still here fighting and we are winning,” said Pierre. “My brother Mark and I get together with the family at least once a year, and they all tell us how proud they are and knew that we would make something of our lives, which is the reason we both are still doing it eight and nine years after graduating high school.”

Pierre said the hardest part about being abroad fighting for the country is not having the opportunity to see his son Drake, who is now five years old and living with Pierre’s father in Thibodaux. He says Drake is still too young to fully understand what he is doing overseas.

“I call him a lot and he keeps asking me ‘Where you at daddy?’” said Pierre. “He always tells me before we hang up the phone that he loves me before I can tell him the same. Last time I saw him was Dec. 4, 2007 – he was crying his eyes out at the airport.”

“That feeling I had that day was the worst ever. All I could tell him was that I love him and that daddy will be right back. An elderly couple standing behind me asked where was I going and when would I be back to see him. Almost in tears I told them about my deployment to Iraq. It showed me that all the love and support I give him from across the world even makes a difference in life with him wanting to come with me.”

Pierre finishes his tour of duty in Iraq in August of next year. His future plans include marriage to his fiancée, a promotion to Staff Sergeant and re-enlistment for another three years. He also wants to continue his education and earn a master’s degree.