Death from the Rooftop

Norb Roda’s Journey to Iraq and Back

Norb and Another Marine on a Rooftop

Five years ago, Norb Roda received a call on a quiet Tuesday afternoon. It was from his squad leader. The call changed his life. The choices that led to Norb receiving this call, and the events that followed it were exciting, horrific and life-changing. Norb opened up about his time in Iraq and the changes in his life that came as a result.

“I remember seeing the Marines Corp commercials as a kid.”

Norb was born in Costa Rica and at the age of five, moved to Texas. He was an ordinary kid, playing with GI Joes and running around with friends. When he entered high school, Norb got interested in the Marines.

“In high school I joined the Marine Corps JROTC. In my senior year I had reached the top of the ladder in the JROTC chain of command and before you knew it, I had Marine Corps recruiters looking for me. I got in into the University of Texas and I knew I would need a way to pay for school. I guess it was meant to be. I joined a program in the Marines where I could attend college and serve.”

Two days after graduating high school, Norb was in the Marine Corp Depot in San Diego. Boot camp was an experience that still shapes him today.

“They try to bring you down as a person and rebuild you as a Marine. They make you mentally strong and able to overcome any fear you have.”

After boot camp, Norb was sent to 29 Palms, California. He described it as 495 square miles of nothing but desert. Norb remained on active duty in California for two years. After active duty, Norb returned to Texas to attend college.

Norb is Out of the Marines and in College

“College was a lot of fun.”

Norb returned to Texas to attend UT full time in 2004. While in college, he tried to enjoy all the normal activities that he missed out on while serving in his country.

“I was partying a little too much. I was probably loosing focus on school. It was sophomore year, I was having a really good time. I had my own apartment. I was living with three females. We would party and just do all the normal college things.”

The fun that Norb had in college was put to a quick end when he received notice of his deployment to Iraq in the spring of 2004.

“I got a call from my squad leader. I thought he was just screwing around at first. He told me we were getting called up. He told me to get my stuff ready by next Saturday for a formation. Rumors had been floating around in my battalion about us shipping out soon so I wasn’t too surprised.”

The toughest part of getting called up was having to tell his mother and sisters that he was being sent to a combat zone.

“I had to look at my mother and my sister and see their tears. It was one of the most difficult moments of my life.”

Norb Keeping His Skills Honed

“We provided security for supply routes and schools.”

Shortly after Norb told his family he was getting deployed, he took the flight from Hoby Airport in Houston, to Bangor, Maine to Germany to Kuwait. Norb spent two days in Kuwait in preparation for his trip to Iraq. Norb and his unit then flew via CH 53 helicopters into Iraq.

When Norb first arrived in Iraq, his unit was assigned to provide security for schools and hospitals. Norb was the SAW gunner for his squad and the designated Guardian Angel. Being the Guardian Angel meant providing security from atop rooftops and engaging any enemies in sight.

“Our mission was to protect a city near the Jordanian and Syrian border of Iraq. We were also in charge of protecting the main supply route going into Baghdad. We had to fight out insurgency out of the city and protect the main supply route from any roadside bombs or ambushes.”

For Norb, the weather was almost as big an enemy as the insurgents he encountered. “The most difficult part was the weather considering it was hot as hell when we got there in September and then the weather dropped tremendously. To our luck we, faced the coldest winter in Iraq in 27 years.”

The innocent civilians were another issue upon arriving. “Our presence was not appreciated when we first arrived, but the attitudes took a complete 180 when we provided toys for the kids and security for two schools and a small hospital to be built.”

Norb Providing Security

“I had to take the shot.”

Norb did not stay on patrols and guarding schools for long. “After three months of being with my platoon, insurgency volume was increasing due to Iraq’s first free elections approaching. I was given the option to leave my platoon and get attached to a sniper team in town. I chose to go with the sniper team.”

Norb was on a team with three other snipers. They were flown by helicopter and inserted inside hostile cities for days at a time. After getting dropped from the helicopter, the team made a long, dangerous hike towards the town. When Getting dropped off, Norb’s combat load was immense.

“I had to carry the model 119 Radio, four batteries, chow and water for three or four days, cold and wet weather gear. Not to mention, I had eight magazines for the M16, two magazines for the Sasser and each of those weighed around five pounds. Then I was off course wearing my flak jacket and Kevlar helmet. I also usually carried a few grenades.”

The team would hike to a blown out hospital to download all that gear. Then a two person team would go out on reconnaissance to scope out where they would set up inside the city. After returning, the full team took the gear and set up. The mission for Norb and his team was primarily to find the mortar-men who attacked coalition bases and Iraqi Police stations.

The task of searching for insurgents planting roadside bombs and mortar-men attacking bases resulted in Norb taking his first life.

“There was one time, we were on the rooftop of a hotel, and I had to take the shot. A guy was inserting a cylindrical metal object in an intersection we called Phoenix. I called it in and I was given the go to fire.”

Norb told me he did not have time to process that experience. After the kill, adrenaline was pumping and he just drove on. Norb went back to his team and continued on with his mission.

Norb Meeting a Local Kid

“Bullets coming at you at close range sound different.”

Norb and his fellow snipers saw action frequently for the next months. “We had a lot of firefights. If we were patrolling with a platoon, we would break off and go onto the roof to provide security. We would go into these people’s houses and introduce ourselves. A lot of times, we were on the roof for three or four hours and they would give away our position. Our position would often get compromised and we would take heavy fire.”

On Election Day, Norb and his team were awakened by bombs going off everywhere. Norb said this was a concerted effort by the terrorists to thwart democracy in Iraq.

“It got pretty crazy. We were sitting on a rooftop and this kid comes up to let his chickens out of the cage. He went downstairs and told his friends that we were up there. It got so hectic that we called LAVs [Light Armored Vehicles] in to extract us. I was going to mount the vehicle and that is when we started taking fire. The guy shooting at me was 30 feet away. I just dropped to the ground and shot my rifle in the direction the bullets were coming from.”

The living conditions outside of the base made the experience all the more desperate for Norb and his team. At night, the temperature would dip to below freezing and the only thing between Norb and the elements was a sleeping bag. During the day, the Iraqi heat combined with the armor made Norb burn up. The sensitive nature of his mission led to other hardships.

“I pretty much ran off of jerky and protein shakes when I was out there. We had to piss in bottles and collect up all our trash. We could not leave any trace that we were up there.”

Norb and his fellow marines would spend four or five days out in the city and on the rooftops, then would return to FOB [Forward Operating Base] Naha, where he tried to enjoy some semblance of normalcy. The base provided two hot meals, a few dumbbells and if you are willing to wait for two hours, an internet center.

Norb and His Fellow Marines About to Go on a Patrol

“It was awesome seeing my family again.”

Norb came home from Iraq in April of 2005. He said that reuniting with his family and friends was the best part of returning. The experience also brought his family closer. “Me and my dad were never too close but now we are really close.”

Returning from Iraq was not all “happily ever after” for Norb. He encountered trouble with the civilian world and recurring worries about his time in combat. Norb had trouble sleeping and experienced nightmares of being on patrol, and being attacked. School was another issue he struggled with.

“Going to school was very different. I was doing pretty well in engineering before I left and upon my return I found myself pretty lost in a lot of my classes. Most of the classes were a continuation of another so I was really rusty with a lot of the info I was supposed to remember. I took some time off and started back at UT last year. I have been doing better now.”

Despite the negatives consequences of being deployed, Norb is glad he had the experience. “It has made me a much stronger person, and I’ve noticed that this has prepared me for anything that life might throw at me.”

- bill bowman