THE FIRST NIGHT HOME

Good story here about troops returning in southern Germany.

Waiting for Coder was Spc. Robert Jones, aka ?Punk Rock Bob,? a friend who returned from Iraq two weeks earlier. Spc. Craig Stasko and his wife, Sabina, also waited for Coder, who dropped his gear and changed into civilian clothes. Like many soldiers, he had no shoes to wear and hit the German streets wearing desert tan boots.

Coder, a lanky redhead who plays guitar, joined his friends for a beer at the Rose and Crown, a local hole-in-the-wall pub in Vilseck. Despite a selection of German beers, for his first brew in a year Coder chose a Budweiser and then lit a Marlboro. The party moved to Pegasus, another popular bar in town.

Coder?s friend, Spc. Anthony Cortese, is getting married soon and was having his bachelor party. Coder drank, laughed and shot pool. He and his friends closed the bar.

Meanwhile, gunfire from the nearby ranges at Grafenw?hr reminded Coder of Baghdad.

?That was weird. It threw me for a loop,? Coder said. ?But it?s not like I started low-crawling or anything like that.?