Londonderry Grad Continues to Honor Fallen Friend

When 1st Lt. Robert Paradis was a member of the Londonderry High School Marching Lancers, an older student in the band got him interested in the Marine Corps.

That student, Lance Cpl. Peter J. Sora, is now one of three names memorialized on granite pillars at LHS after he died in a training accident in 2004. He was 19.

In 2005, over 13 months after Sora's death, Paradis graduated and faced some decisions. At the encouragement of his father Joe, who was in the Air Force stationed in Korea, Paradis went the college route at the University of Maine before joining ROTC. Basic school in Virginia followed.

The goal, according to Paradis, was to become a tanker, something that he always wanted to do, and something that was further motivated by the death of his friend.

Seven years after leaving Londonderry, he has become just that, currently five months into his second tour in Afghanistan.

"I think I just liked the awesome firepower that the tank brought to the battlefield," he said. "There's a whole slew of technical skills that you need to be an actual tanker."

Paradis was commisioned as a 2nd Lieutenant the same day he graduated from UMaine.

He is now the executive officer and 1st Lieutenant of his tank company, the only one in Afghanistan.

"Basically we support everybody," Paradis said. "We're attached to the regiment (and) in charge of the whole province."

Bravo Co., 2nd Tank Bn. is 99 marines strong, many of whom Paradis said are ages 21 or 22, just old enough to legally drink in the states.

The men all came over together, with a surprising amount of Marines from New England.

"Usually you get a lot of Marines from California (or) Texas," Paradis said. "We've got ample guys from Massachusetts."

And while the United States works to wind down the war in Afghanistan, there is no shortage of opposition from insurgents, including gunfire.

"It's a pretty regular occurence around here," Paradis said. "Even though we're an intimidating force, insurgents are scared of us to some degree, but they're not afraid enough to not shoot at us."

Most recently, in an operation called 'Helmand Viper' that lasted from Oct. 19 to Oct. 27, Paradis said that he and his men were in support of Australian troops in the northern part of the province.

Faced with gunfire from enemy opposition, he praised the work of the Marines.

"The reason I say (my men) make me proud, only half the company is combat arms (and) are actual tankers," Paradis said. "The rest of the guys that are deployed here with us, they are supporting guys, communications specialists, administrative things. Pulling triggers is not their primary job."

Paradis added that the members of the company were calm, cool and collected during the eight-day effort.

While the tank does provide an extra amount of security when fired upon, he said that each situation is still an adrenaline rush.

On his first tour, the 23-year-old Paradis wasn't inside of a tank when he first experienced bullets.

"You don't really think," he said of the experience. "Your training kicks in and you just react exactly how you have been trained."

Now the days are winding down for Paradis, who anticipated not only that he will be home in two-and-a-half months time, but that this will be his final time in Afghanistan.

His family naturally worries for his safe return, including his younger sister Danielle, a 2008 LHS graduate, and his wife Erin.

His parents, who still live in Londonderry, are also fully involved in organizations back home that support the troops.

Just last week, Paradis' mother Joanne was busy in Nashua, helping the charitable organization Moore*Mart package up Christmas stockings to send to troops in the Middle East.

That shipment, which went out on Nov. 10, was the organization's milestone 50,000 package.

"I have pretty regular contact with my parents," Paradis said. "I talk to them on the phone maybe once every six weeks or so. They are extremely proud as you could imagine."

But as Paradis nears the date when he can get home and see his family, he has a proudness in his heart too – for the dozens of Marines he gets to see every day, with dozens of families also waiting back home.

"It feels great to be honest with you, to have younger Marines," Paradis said. "Yeah, they serve under you, but they really serve with you. That's just a fact of the matter. Yeah we're different ranks, but we're all brothers in arms. I would do anything for these guys that I serve with."

Asked why he chose the Marines above other branches of the military, Paradis laughed.

"They're the best," he said. "That's an easy one."