Reflections Magazine Issue #70 - Fall 2009 | Page 9

Athletics Feature

“When I was in Germany, there was still
aggression over there, but there were no
gunshots or anything like that,” he said.
“Now it’s a different scenario because of
9/11 and the policies of the Bush Administration to take action against the terrorist
acts. He would have some action. I never
did, so it was a totally different scenario
than it was for me.”
Everything in Chris Boertje’s world suddenly stopped. School. Baseball. Friends. It all
went on hold while he packed for three
months of U.S. Army pre-mobilization
training in Texas.They prepared for specific
missions and possible obstacles in the Iraqi
deserts. Upon completion of the pre-mob
training, the unit received a four-day vacation before its sendoff ceremony and an
uncertain future.
“A lot of emotions right there,” Michael
Boertje said. “He’s my only son. I was proud
of him. I had pride in him. A lot of fatherly
love there.”
Next stop: Iraq.

He still remembers the patrol drives. His
unit considered every inanimate object a
potential threat.
“On the main road, there’s stuff all over the
side of the road,” Chris Boertje said. “You
don’t know what it is. It could blow up. It
could destroy your vehicle. Bad stuff could
happen. There was a lot to worry about
just driving down a road.”
His family and friends still remember the
diluted conversations via telephone or Internet. He couldn’t say much, just that he was
doing OK.

There’s only so much Chris Boertje can tell.
He couldn’t reveal many specifics. Most
classified as top-secret information and
punishment would ensue should they end
up in print. The information he could give,
however, painted a clear picture of both the
everyday danger and saddening detachment from family and friends.

After almost a year of service, Chris Boertje
finally learned a timeframe for his return
to the U.S. Nothing official, though. Some
time around December 2008. But it at least
hinted that he neared the finish line.

“It was difficult at times, because our conversations were very limited,” Kolasinski said.
“He didn’t always have email access, and
what he could say, he had to be very careful
in what he said. He could only hint that he
was coming back at such-and-such a time.
He couldn’t give any dates, because they
would eliminate that from an email in case
it fell into the wrong hands.”
Kolasinski hung Chris Boertje’s No. 4 jersey
in the Siena dugout every game during the
2008 season. He said the situation put life
into perspective for him and his team.
“Difficult things happen,” Kolasinski said.
“When you’re involved in athletics, you have
a close group, and then suddenly you have
to look outside the team box. It’s part of the
growing-up process. You realize there are
other things than baseball going on. Someone in their family can serve, or they can
serve, there can be deaths—lots of stuff. “It
isn’t all fun and games. There’s a completely
different world.”

The Day He Got There

“It’s like a puzzle, and you have to put the
pieces together,” Michael Boertje said. “You
can read the news, watch the news on TV.
Sometimes you can pick up on the military
terminology. You put the pieces together,
and you come up with a possible scenario
about what’s going on.”

Chris Boertje maintained communication
with friends through instant messaging.
He credits close friend Ashley Hubbard with
helping him most.
“He probably talked to people back here
about once a week,” Hubbard said. “He
couldn’t say what was going on, but it was
better than no confirmation at all.

He still remembers his first steps on Iraqi
soil. The desert sun caused the ground to
roast. He trudged into the thick, damp heat
and scanned the foreign landscape.

“He talked about all the wear and tear he
was going through. He would work something like 18 hours on his missions and not
get a lot of sleep. He always said how tired
he was. He wasn’t getting sleep, and he was
getting really stressed.”

“We had to look out for obstacles anywhere,
in the road or on the side of the road. It was
scary,” Chris Boertje said. “I had butterflies in
my stomach. I was able to talk myself down
and prepare myself, knowing what could
happen and what can happen.

Chris Boertje talked to his parents by telephone. The calls, though, weren’t predictable. Michael Boertje and his wife, Andrea,
would sometimes hear from him every few
days, while other times, he would call every
few weeks.

“All the training we did prepared us for anything that could happen, so we knew what
to do. So that made me feel a little better.”

And the worst part: He couldn’t say when
he could call next. His parents waited and
wondered.

“It wasn’t official until we actually got on
the plane to come back,” he said.
Chris Boertje’s return timeframe didn’t cause
his mother and father to exhale just yet.
Twenty years in the military taught Michael
Boertj