By Linda Thomas
Westwood Hometown Weekly Correspondent
A ribbon of tracer fire cut through the night sky over the Green Zone in the middle of Baghdad.
It was a black October night in 2005. The air was cool.
Bullets were flying everywhere. No one knew where they were coming from. No one knew what was going on.
One soldier, without hesitation, charged into the open to get a better view.
As it turned out, what had seemed like the makings of a fire fight was simply the celebration of some over-zealous soccer fans.
But Neil Martino didn’t know that. It was just his natural reflex - charging into tense situations, shielding others from harm.
The veteran Westwood firefighter and soldier has spent most of his adult life serving others — witnessing the unstoppable destruction of fires that ravage people’s lives, or seeing soldiers on the battlefield, taking their last breaths.
The inclination to charge into danger zones can be traced back through his lineage. His grandfather fought during World War II. His father served during the Vietnam War and became a police officer with the MBTA. An uncle was a Westwood firefighter.
Martino was a medic in the Army and served two tours in Iraq: in 2003 and from October 2005 through October 2006.
“You could be on a mission in one area where there was a constant inundation of fuel exhaust in the air. And, yet, a few days later, you’re on a different mission in a poorly developed area with the smell of trash and open sewerage,” Martino said.
“Neil is a patriot who loves his country and has continued to serve others as a fireman,” said Army MSG. Ronald Zwicker Jr., who served both tours with Martino. “He was a great soldier, NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer), and is an all-around great person. I’m proud to call him my friend.”
During that night in Iraq, when the mysterious gunfire was flying, Martino acted instantly, Zwicker said.
“There was an observatory at the top of the building. It was a good spot because it gives you a good vantage point,” Zwicker recalled. “But it also puts you at risk because you’re no longer in the safety of the building.
“Neil did that quickly … without hesitation.”
When Martino wasn’t needed in the Green Zone, he volunteered to go to the city of Ramadi, when conditions in Anbar Province were at their worst, Zwicker said.
“He volunteered to leave the relative comfort of the Green Zone to go to Ramadi, where he would have more of an impact. He wanted to be utilized and help more soldiers.
“And he did.”
Just a Walk in the Park
As a boy, Martino played soldier and fireman — just something he enjoyed.
Something he knew he wanted to do.
“I grew up in a very patriotic family,” he said. “I always had the desire to serve, living in our fantastic country.”
He’s said he never got to meet his maternal grandfather, who served during World War II and died before his grandson was born. He was in the Navy, as was Martino’s maternal uncle, Joe Flynn, now retired from the Westwood Fire Department.
Martino has been a firefighter in Westwood, where his mother grew up, for 13 years. Now a husband and a father, he says he’s seen a lot, but nothing compared to the day in 2009 when he delivered a child in the back seat of an ambulance.
“You see a lot of end-of-life in the field,” Martino said. “You tend to see people at their worst moments. You potentially take a lot of people for what could be their last ride … their last trip.
“And when you see something like a child being born, it’s just pretty awesome,” he said.
He remembers that hot, muggy summer night when they got the call.
“It wasn’t a matter of choice to stay and deliver the baby versus drive fast,” said fire Capt. Robert Valluzzi. “This baby was coming right now. She delivered within a minute of putting her in a stretcher in the ambulance — a beautiful, healthy baby boy.
“We had to work quick,” he added. “And, fortunately, with Neil’s background as a medic in the military, he was calm under stress. For him, it was just a walk in the park.”
A Military Bond
Zwicker met Martino on his first drill back after a four-year stint in the Inactive Ready Reserve in January 2001.
“I liked him right away,” Zwicker said. “He was a young specialist and one of the first people to welcome me to the unit. He’s younger than me and calls me Dad.”
Martino liked to make people laugh, Zwicker said.
“He could somehow make a miserable field training exercise fun. He always had a smile on his face - even when he was complaining, he still had a smile on his face.
“If I ever had to deploy again, I would want someone like Neil by my side.”
For Martino, the thing he remembers most about being in combat and in the military is the bond it creates.
“You’re with buddies you’ve served overseas with 10 years ago, and you haven’t talked to them in five or six years,” he said. “But I could pick up the phone and talk to them like it was yesterday.”
One of the more memorable moments being in the Middle East, he says, was having watched the resilience of the men and women, many 18 and 19-year-olds, he served with.
“Watching them also do their jobs, unwavering regardless of the circumstances,” he said. “It was just impressive to watch.”
On March 20, 2005, a few months before he was deployed a second tour of duty to Iraq, Martino joined the Westwood Fire Department.
Valluzzi was hired as part of a group of four at the same time and later worked the same schedule.
Martino did not mention he had served in the Army during the Iraq war.
“That didn’t come to light immediately,” Valluzzi said. “Neil was certainly not parading around telling everybody, ‘I’m a soldier.’ He was just another one of the guys.”
It wasn’t until later that his fellow firefighters found out Martino was a combat veteran and had seen service overseas, Valluzzi said.
“As we were preparing to go to the fire academy, it came to light when the instructor had asked if anybody had ever been in the military,” Valluzzi said. “Neil said that he was in the Army.”
Shortly after the two joined the fire department, Martino was reactivated and deployed again to the Middle East.
“But when he came back, he was right back on shift with me,” Valluzzi said.
Someone’s Emergency
For some, it can be hard to deal with the suddenness of an emergency — whether as a soldier or a firefighter.
For him, Martino says, “It’s just something you’re mentally prepared to do at any time.”
“Going into the field,” he said. “you expect at any minute there could be someone’s emergency.
“When you’re at work, you never truly get to turn it off or completely relax. Even if you’re not doing a call, you’re ready to.”
When Martino walks into the station to start his shift there’s an immediate mindset change.
“It’s not like I’m home and relaxing and I can take my time doing anything I want,” he said.
“I’m here for a purpose.
“And when it comes up you can’t hesitate. You have to do what you have to do.”
Editor’s Note: Linda Thomas writes for Hometown Weekly Publications, Inc. For comments and suggestions, she can be reached at lindasfaces@gmail.com.
