Larchmont English Teacher Called to War:
Community Rallies Behind Family

by Judy Silberstein

(March 31, 2003) Once again, the miracle of cellular telephony has brought news from the war in Iraq to the Larchmont home front. Family physician Sue Bonadonna was examining a patient this weekend when her cell phone rang. After weeks with no direct contact, it was husband Colonel Reed Bonadonna on a mobile phone borrowed from a BBC reporter embedded with his unit, the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Though part of his unit has been involved in the heavy fighting in the southern Iraqi city of An Nasiriyah, about all he had time to say was: “I’m fine.”

Two weeks ago, it was Larchmont firefighter Rich Heine calling from Kuwait to reassure his buddies that despite the televised bombardment they were viewing, he too was fine. (see: Call from Kuwait: Rich Heine's Camp Target of Iraqi Scud)

Like Heine, Reed Bonadonna is a military reservist, though he doesn’t exactly fit the “G.I. Joe” stereotype. For one thing, he’s a 48 year-old family man, living with his wife and three children in Larchmont. For another, he has a Ph.D. in English and teaches English and Ethics at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in King’s Point, when he’s not on active duty.

Nonetheless, Colonel Bonadonna is a bona fide officer in the US Marine Corps Reserves. He studied history at the Virginia Military Institute, and went straight into the Marines upon graduation in 1978. He left active duty to pursue a doctoral degree in English, but has remained with the reserves as a military historian. Now, as a wartime historian, he is documenting the history of his unit. The military is particularly interested in what works and what doesn’t – so they don’t repeat their mistakes.

“For him, it’s very important to be serving,” said Bonadonna’s wife Sue, a family practice physician. “What he’s doing now is something that he’s trained for – for a long time. He strongly believes it’s the right thing to do.”

It wasn’t easy for Colonel Bonadonna to leave his wife or his three sons, ten-year old Erik, eight year-old Devon, and almost five-year old Luke. But, “I think he would feel guilty to not be part of it,” said his wife.

This isn’t the first time he’s been called up. During Desert Storm in 1991, his unit ended up in Norway for a few months. This time, though, there are three children to consider. “Before the kids it was easier,” said Dr. Bonadonna. “But in another way the kids make it easier for me to keep it together – I have to.” The routines keep her grounded, and the Murray Avenue PTA is being wonderfully supportive, she reported.

“People expressed interest in bringing me dinner several nights a week. We settled on Thursday night, which is the most stressful. It’s a workday, then there are trumpet lessons, pick-up at the pre-school and getting down to home work,” she said.

The family has only lived in Larchmont since last April when they moved from Gardner, Massachusetts. However, they find the community welcoming and their Lafayette Street neighborhood generously endowed with both playmates and babysitters.

Dr. Bonadonna is touched by the PTA’s offer. She was also moved by the sensitivity of one fourteen-year-old babysitter who was watching the boys on March 19, the night the war broke out. Understanding the gravity of the day, he refused to take payment.

These days, Dr. Bonadonna keeps her cell phone handy, just in case. But she knows, phone calls and email are difficult during the current phase of military operations. Instead she’s relying on “snail mail.”

“The kids are writing letters,” said Dr. Bonadonna. Youngest son Luke wants to know, “Is Daddy’s team winning?” She feels bad that her husband has yet to receive any of their communiqués, but she treasures the letters and sketches that have made their way to Larchmont

On March 13 he wrote his son: “Last night I was sitting outside my tent talking with some of the other Marines. Suddenly a strong wind blew up and there was a big sandstorm. For hours the tent was buffeted by winds and I wondered if it would stay up. There is a layer of very fine sand on everything. I can still taste it. We keep each other cheered up by cracking jokes and making fun of our situation.”

In another letter, he told his wife, “I came out of my tent to walk to the chow hall as the sun was just at its biggest and reddest. Every time a Marine stepped, it raised a cloud of sand made gold by the light.”

These thoughts on the misery and beauty of war in Iraq would be hard to convey by cell-phone.

Aboard the USS Bataan enroute to Kuwait