A Balance of Service, War and Family

Luis and Dinorah Roldan have gone through some rough times since beginning their military careers together in 1978. Being separated from each other, sometimes for yearlong periods. The scares surrounding overseas service, both for them and now for their two sons. Undefined work hours described only as “24/7.”

But the 11-year members of American Legion Post 294 in Powder Springs know many have had it much harder, making the ultimate sacrifice to maintain the freedoms of the United States.

“For us, it was a sacrifice … but we know that others were even worse, many who died,” says 55-year-old Luis, who served in logistics for the Army. “We made those sacrifices to pursue and to get a better nation. And I think that this is a great nation because of the veterans, what the veterans did for the nation.”

On this Veterans Day—Nov. 11, 2011—stories of past and present military men and women are being told across the nation to honor those defending our freedoms. The Roldans story differs from most in that they weren’t born and didn’t enlist in one of the 50 states; their military involvement began during college in their homeland, the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Statistics on how many Puerto Ricans have been in the U.S. military since it became part of the country in 1898 aren’t readily available. But, as of 2010, figures from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Census Bureau show that there were 112,700 veterans living in Puerto Rico out of the country's 3,700,000 citizens.

Dinorah, 57, recalls being part of a “resurgence” in late 1970s of people joining the military following the anti-war movements of the ‘60s and early ‘70s. There were still riots at her college, the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras, protesting the military actions of the U.S. The protests forced the ROTC building where she and Luis learned as cadets off campus.

Luis laughs as he tells the story of how he met his wife of 33 years at a bowling alley. “A friend of mine called me and he said, ‘I’m here alone and there’s all these girls and I don’t know how to handle them.’ And I said, ‘I’ll be there in 15 minutes.’” 

The only ROTC programs offered in Puerto Rico were Air Force and Army—Luis was enrolled in the former while Dinorah was in the latter. As the two began to fall further for one another, Luis switched over to Army to ensure they would be together after graduation.

“We started dating and we got serious and then we found out that if I stayed in the Air Force and she stayed in the Army, chances of us staying together later on in the same bases would be slim,” Luis says. “She could be in Germany, or I could be in Panama or I could be who knows where.”

But the separations would still be aplenty, with the first lengthy one following their time at Fort Lewis in Washington. They were apart for seven months while they were both enrolled in advanced courses for the rank of captain. 

They'd reunite and head to Germany amid the Cold War in 1981. 

A 'Military Spouse'

Three years later and while still in Germany, Dinorah became pregnant, giving her the option to either transition from active duty to reservist or get out altogether. The decision to stay on as a reservist came with much thought.

“When you’re in the Army, your job is not just like any regular civilian,” she says. “You’ve got to be able to move out and go at any time of day.”

Luis adds: “All of the sudden they call you and they say, ‘You’ve got to report to your unit.’ You don’t have a choice to say, ‘Well uh, I’ve got to go home and wait until my parents come to pick up the kids.’”

It was when she was alone at home with their newborn son that Dinorah first learned what it was like to be married to someone in the military. At first she calls herself a “military wife” but changes the phrase to “military spouse … because nowadays it’s both” sexes enlisting in the armed services.

As a commanding officer in Germany, Luis would leave early in the morning, return late in the afternoon or evening, and always be on call.

“I was alone a lot and there was only one car, so you can imagine: I knew then what a military spouse felt,” Dinorah explains. “Going to a strange place not knowing the language or knowing the people and not having transportation. 

“I consider myself like a jack-of-all-trades. I was a mom, I was a dad, I was the do-it-yourselfer—whatever in the house that needs to be done.”

They’d return to the U.S. in 1986, make a home for themselves in Virginia, and give birth to their second son.

‘My Knees Started Shaking’

A call came in late 1990. Dinorah answered. It was for Luis.

She says that when she saw his face, “my knees started shaking.”

Dinorah, along with her two sons, stayed with Luis for a few days at Fort Bragg before he was deployed for the Gulf War.

Dinorah, who was on the tail end of her years as a reservist, says she also received a phone call: “They called him up and two weeks later, I got mobilized.” 

She had her physical done, and her aunt in Boston was ready to head down to care for the kids. But the actual fighting in the Persian Gulf was over almost as soon as it began.

“We hit (the Iraqis) with everything we had,” says Luis, who, as a logistics officer, was stationed in “no man’s land” between Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. He was deployed there from January to July in 1991.

Coming to Powder Springs

After completing a yearlong assignment in 1995 in Fort Benning near Columbus, GA, the couple decided they didn’t want to return to Virginia. Luis needed to find work for the time that he was away from active duty and in the reserves.

The area they were living in in Virginia was surrounded by military bases, making for a tight job market.

“You're competing with dependents, with all the retirees, with all the same people on active duty,” he says. “So we decided, ‘Let’s take our chances in Atlanta.’”

They moved into an apartment in Marietta, and within three days, Luis landed a job with a staffing agency. 

The last house they came upon as they were looking one day in 1997 was in Powder Springs—the same house they live in today. They were lured by the neighborhood, the safety of the area, and for their two sons.

Continued Service

Luis would go on to also serve in Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti in 1994, and in the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2004 to 2006.

Based in Kuwait, Luis served as the chief of staff for Army Material Command, which supplies equipment. In that position, he worked directly under several generals.

“We had so many generals that used to come and go that all of the sudden, you didn’t know who you were working for,” he says. “But you knew your job, and your job was seven days a week, 24 hours a day. With those 24 hours, it’s up to you to take a nap or find a facility, because if you’re in your room, they’ll come knock on the door.”

He would travel into Iraq 10 times and Afghanistan seven times. During his two years in the wars, he was only given 14 days a year to visit home.

Dinorah, who was a substitute teacher primarily at , remembers that when Luis arrived home for a visit in 2005, one of their sons took a photograph at the airport.

“He snapped a picture of my smiling face—ear to ear, smiling,” she recalls. “It was great (to have him home), but it was too short of a time.”

She explains that some family members had flown in “because you just never know what’s going to happen” while he's at war.

A Family Tradition

April Fools’ Day 2010 was the first day Luis Roldan got to enjoy his retirement, saying goodbye to the Army in the rank of colonel.

He had amassed a collection of awards, including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

The couple’s older son, 26-year-old Capt. Raul J. Roldan, is currently stationed in Japan with the Air Force. While at McEachern, he was accepted to every college he applied to, including Georgia Tech. But a week in summer seminar at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs altered his path. 

“When he came back, he said he would like to join the Air Force Academy,” Dinorah recalls.

Their younger son, 24-year-old Sgt. Ricardo Roldan, is currently enrolled in Kennesaw State on the G.I. Bill following two tours in Afghanistan. While Richardo was at war, Luis says he was scared for his son “all the time.”

“When he went back the second time, his unit lost more people in the first three months than the first time they were there for 15 months,” Luis says. “So he lost a bunch of his friends—close, really close friends.”

But the overall experience in the military, the couple says, has benefited their son.

“The military changed him to become mature, more responsible, more focused,” Luis says, with Dinorah quickly adding: “And he thinks about the things he wants to do. That young man, believe it or not, has a home. He bought his own home.”

The Roldans say that though they’re retired and have both kids out of the home, they’re definitely not bored.

As the service officer for Powder Springs’ American Legion post, Dinorah assists veterans needing help with things like pensions and disability.

Luis is on the post’s executive board and also coordinates the Wounded Warrior program for the region’s 20 American Legion posts.

“It’s like their family,” he says of American Legion members. “It’s like their home.”

Luis says he’s proud of his organization’s , scheduled for today at 11 a.m. at the . Even though every day is important for celebrating the nation’s veterans, the need is “amplified” on Veterans Day, he adds.

“That’s what really glues this nation together—the military,” he explains. “People say, ‘How are we going to honor those who died or those who are still serving,’ and this is one of the great ways to do it.”