MV-based unit mourns two soldiers MV-based unit mourns two soldiers (December 30, 2005)

Roadside bomb kills sergeants near Baghdad

By Molly Tanenbaum

The holiday season brought with it unexpected sad news for the 351st Civil Affairs Command in Mountain View. On Dec. 23, the Army unit learned of the deaths of two of its soldiers, sergeants Cheyenne Willey and Regina Reali, after they drove over a roadside bomb near Baghdad.

"It was very devastating," said Major Vanessa Gattis, commander of the unit. "These soldiers were very well-liked and when you lose one of your own, it's very hard."

About half of the unit -- just under 100 soldiers -- is deployed in Iraq right now, and Willey and Reali's deaths are the first the unit has suffered since deployment began. Reali, 25, of Fresno, had been with the 351st Command in Mountain View since the beginning of her military career in 2000. Willey, 36, of Fremont, had joined the unit in 2004.

Both left for Iraq this past summer and were recently promoted to the rank of sergeant. As civil affairs specialists, Willey and Reali were working on rebuilding efforts in Iraq, including opening new schools and police departments and preparing for elections, according to Spc. Ruth Corsaro, a member of their unit.

"It's really hard because it's more like losing a friend than a co-worker," said Corsaro, who joined the Army around the same time as Reali. The two were close in age, which brought them together as friends.

"She was really dedicated. She was doing what she loved to do," Corsaro added. When Reali was about to be deployed to Iraq, Corsaro asked if she was scared, and Reali's response was, "No, I'm proud."

Willey, who was born July 4, 1969 in Red Wing, Minn., served in the Persian Gulf after beginning his Army career in 1995. After taking a five-year break from service, he reenlisted in June 2004 for a second term.

"If you didn't know him that well, your first impression would be that he was shy and quiet, but if you got to see the real him, he was the jokester, always laughing and joking with us," Corsaro recalled.

Because he was older than most soldiers in the unit, Willey's fellow soldiers looked up to him, Corsaro said. He had aspirations to become a police officer, according to Sergeant Major Dale Morris, who also worked closely with Willey. Morris praised Willey for his incredible shooting aim and accuracy.

"He was a very good shot," Morris said. "I looked at him and I said, 'Willey, I want on your vehicle if we go down range together.'"

For Corsaro and her family, hearing the tragic news about the two sergeants has made the prospect of her upcoming deployment to Afghanistan even more difficult.

"I don't know if I could say I'm not scared," she said.

No information was available prior to press time regarding a memorial service. Reali is survived by her father Richard of Atwater, and her brother Paul of San Diego. Willey is survived by his mother Patsy Miller, of Fremont. Neither family was available for comment.

E-mail Molly Tanenbaum at mtanenbaum@mv-voice.com

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