.Letters home from 1486th soldier become book about Iraq War
MANSFIELD -- Michelle Zaremba was a columnist and didn't know it.
To her surprise, she would later become an author by simply documenting her daily routine while on duty in Iraq.
"My mother asked me to write letters home so she would know if I'm OK," Zaremba said of her stint that began in January 2004 and lasted until March 2005.
The Ohio National Guard's 1486th Transportation Company has units in Mansfield and Ashland. Zaremba said she and members of the company drove supply trucks from Kuwait to Baghdad.
"Before I left, I had a big send-off and (Christina Sima) was the reporter assigned to cover it," she said of the co-author of "Wheels on Fire: My Year of Driving ... and Surviving ... in Iraq."
As Zaremba wrote letters home to her mother, Sima had them printed in the Medina Gazette.
"I had a column I didn't know about," Zaremba said. "Then, after I came home, (Hellgate Press) contacted me to write a book of what's behind the letters."
Zaremba, who lives in Dayton, said she never had aspirations to be a journalist or author.
"I just wanted to tell my mom what was going on," she said. "It also ended up being a journal."
The format of the book is a preview of how Zaremba and Sima met, a discussion of why she joined the military, followed by the story of her deployment to Iraq.
"You will read a letter and then the rest of the chapter explains what's behind it," she said. "Sometimes I would soften things up for my mom, or there were things I didn't talk about in the letters."
In the book, Zaremba highlights her fellow soldiers' experiences along with her own.
Bucyrus resident John Delaney was Zaremba's truck partner during most driving missions in Iraq.
"I love it," he said of the book. "It will be something I reflect on when I'm older. It's like having a journal without writing a journal."
Delaney said he and Zaremba would do anything to keep spirits high during their deployment.
"We got this Bee Gee's CD and in the cab of the truck we had speakers," he said with a chuckle. "We would get out from time to time and dance for the local people."
Zaremba didn't realize her reason for writing until after she read it in print.
"I noticed it helped me have closure on such a crazy experience," she said. "It was a healing experience reading it and processing it again."
"Wheels on Fire" is available at area bookstores and online at hellgatepress.com and Amazon.com.
Mansfield News
To her surprise, she would later become an author by simply documenting her daily routine while on duty in Iraq.
"My mother asked me to write letters home so she would know if I'm OK," Zaremba said of her stint that began in January 2004 and lasted until March 2005.
The Ohio National Guard's 1486th Transportation Company has units in Mansfield and Ashland. Zaremba said she and members of the company drove supply trucks from Kuwait to Baghdad.
"Before I left, I had a big send-off and (Christina Sima) was the reporter assigned to cover it," she said of the co-author of "Wheels on Fire: My Year of Driving ... and Surviving ... in Iraq."
As Zaremba wrote letters home to her mother, Sima had them printed in the Medina Gazette.
"I had a column I didn't know about," Zaremba said. "Then, after I came home, (Hellgate Press) contacted me to write a book of what's behind the letters."
Zaremba, who lives in Dayton, said she never had aspirations to be a journalist or author.
"I just wanted to tell my mom what was going on," she said. "It also ended up being a journal."
The format of the book is a preview of how Zaremba and Sima met, a discussion of why she joined the military, followed by the story of her deployment to Iraq.
"You will read a letter and then the rest of the chapter explains what's behind it," she said. "Sometimes I would soften things up for my mom, or there were things I didn't talk about in the letters."
In the book, Zaremba highlights her fellow soldiers' experiences along with her own.
Bucyrus resident John Delaney was Zaremba's truck partner during most driving missions in Iraq.
"I love it," he said of the book. "It will be something I reflect on when I'm older. It's like having a journal without writing a journal."
Delaney said he and Zaremba would do anything to keep spirits high during their deployment.
"We got this Bee Gee's CD and in the cab of the truck we had speakers," he said with a chuckle. "We would get out from time to time and dance for the local people."
Zaremba didn't realize her reason for writing until after she read it in print.
"I noticed it helped me have closure on such a crazy experience," she said. "It was a healing experience reading it and processing it again."
"Wheels on Fire" is available at area bookstores and online at hellgatepress.com and Amazon.com.
Mansfield News
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