A crowd of friends, family and supporters recently gathered to welcome home Tinley Park’s Army Lt. Chris Zaczyk after spending seven months in Iraq.
The 23-year-old returned to Fort Hood, Texas, on Dec. 18 and then returned home for leave Jan. 13. To a crowd full of familiar faces at Tinley Park’s Village Hall on Jan. 31, Zaczyk shared what his experience was like as a platoon leader in Iraq and how important the community’s support was for him and his soldiers.
“What I can tell you about Iraq is there is so much uncertainty that on a daily basis, it’s almost overwhelming,” he said. “The one thing I could always count on was the love and the support of the people back home.”
The cards and care packages sent to Zaczyk by community members made all the difference to him and the 19 soldiers in his platoon, he said. His parents also expressed thanks for the community’s support of their family as they waited for Zaczyk’s return.
“You worry and you pray a lot, but as you can see from everybody in this room, we had a tremendous support system,” said his mother, Lorrie Zaczyk. “Not a day went by that people didn’t reach out, and that’s what carried us.”
The Andrew High School alum was first introduced to Tinley Park village officials through the Youth in Government program when he shadowed then Village Trustee Pat Rea while in high school. Rea, now the village clerk, has served as a mentor for Zaczyk since then and helped to organize the welcome home event. The village traditionally organizes similar events for Tinley Park veterans when they return from a deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Zaczyk has come to consider his Tinley Park community as family for both himself and his fellow soldiers it has helped to support.
“You’re a phenomenal group of people and I love you all to death,” he said. “You’re amazing and you are absolutely, 100 percent worth defending and continuing to defend.”
Zaczyk said he is unsure what the future holds for him but he is passionate about continuing in his current role as a platoon leader.
“I love what I do, I love leading soldiers,” he said. “I can’t tell you what the future brings, but right now, I love my job.”
