Millville honors soldier

MILLVILLE, N.J. - January 24, 2008 On Thursday, the man of the hour was Army Sgt. Anthony Crespo.

The 16 year career soldier came home from Iraq earlier this month to spend a couple weeks with his wife Christina, son Alex, daughter Shelbee, and the newest member of the family, 4-month-old Kainan, who was born one month after Sgt. Crespo was deployed.

Unfortunately Sgt. Crespo's stay is short, as he must return to Iraq next week and won't be home again until after Christmas.

"We just keep going and we do as much as we can and when he comes back, we just pick up where we left off and it's like he never left," Christian Crespo said.

Millville is a city of 28,000 and has seen several of its citizens serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. This was the 38th such ceremony.

The city has also lost two people to the battles.

"We have a lot of good people that want to volunteer and serve in the military and we're very proud of them. I think we get that message across each time that we're very proud of what they're doing and we're very happy that they serve our country," Mayor James Quinn said.

Sgt. Crespo has expertise in explosives and demolition and admits his war experiences have made him uncomfortable in crowds. However, this time, he knew he was among friends and he was thankful for it.