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Often, the unsung heroes of everyday life are the men and women in uniform who serve their country and fellow man—police, firefighters, soldiers, doctors, nurses, and so on. Without them, our society would descend into chaos and disorder. Men like Dave Pereda protect and defend America’s families and homes, both domestically and internationally. They are a vital example of service and sacrifice—one that makes our lives better and safer every day. I heard of Dave and his story through my radio show.
From deployment in unstable and war-ridden nations like North Africa, Bosnia, and Israel in the early 1990s, to cleaning up rubble at Ground Zero after September 11, to patrolling the streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, to running more than two hundred combat missions in Iraq, when his country called, Dave Pereda answered.
Born as an American citizen in Caracas, Venezuela, Pereda spent most of his young life growing up in south Florida as he and his family moved from town to town; his father worked for oil companies. Moving from city to city, Pereda grew up in various high-crime neighborhoods. “Most of my friends that I grew up with are either dead or in jail or on their way to one or the other. A few of them made it out okay,” Pereda said. After graduating from high school, Pereda enlisted in the United States Marines. “I had a desire to serve my country and also get out of the environment I grew up in,” he said.
Without the money for college, and itching with a desire to serve his country, Pereda began a four-year tour as a corporal in the Marines. In only four years, he traveled the world, serving in North Africa, Israel, Bosnia, the Philippines, and different parts of Europe and the Mediterranean.
In 1994, Pereda left the Marines and started college through the GI Bill. He worked odd jobs, like landscaping and bartending, all the while working toward a career in law enforcement. In January 1998, he was hired by the Clifton, New Jersey, police department.
Since January 5, 1998, Pereda has served the people of New Jersey, sharing time as a detective and an officer on patrol—by “taking out New Jersey’s trash” as he likes to say. While working at the bureau, he often investigated as many as forty active cases at the same time. “I’d drive home, walk in the door, and the phone would ring and I’d have to get back in the car and [go] right back to work.”
Then in 2007, Pereda did something even more remarkable. He enlisted in the New Jersey Army National Guard Reserve knowing that the probability of getting called up to active duty in either Iraq or Afghanistan was very high. With a wife who was battling medical issues and a six-year-old daughter, Pereda’s decision caught his friends and family off guard.
“From the day I got out, I’ve always kind of had a little draw to continue serving,” he said, “but I was working on my career and other issues prevented me. Our country was at war and I believe in our country and I believe in the cause. I’ve always had that desire to serve, and I finally got an opportunity to join back up. I wanted to do my part in the effort, so I enlisted.”
By June 2008, Pereda was activated for deployment to Iraq. As a sergeant and squad leader of the 2nd Battalion, 113th Infantry of the New Jersey Army National Guard, he led a platoon of twelve men. As an ISR (Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance) platoon, Pereda and his men conducted 212 combat missions in the Basra Province in a ten-month period. Despite constant rocket attacks, skirmishes, and IEDs, Pereda’s platoon was never hit directly.
While serving in Iraq, Pereda and his men went above and beyond their military obligations. They drove through different cities and neighborhoods and gave Iraqi children school supplies, papers, and soccer balls—often the first toys these boys and girls had ever held. As intelligence officers, Pereda’s platoon’s job was to cultivate trust with the Iraqi people by interacting with them. After meeting with the Iraqi police and highway patrol, they organized a local platoon used-boot drive to help the Iraqi policemen who were often working checkpoints in torn-up sandals. They repaired one of the local water purification plants and rebuilt one of the Iraqi army outposts.
“Granted, I’m a Christian and they’re Muslims, but the bottom line is that most people over there want what we want, and that is a better life for their family and their kids,” said Pereda. It turns out his service to the local Iraqis paid off in more ways than he imagined.
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On November 10, 2008 a notorious detainee escaped from the detention facility where Pereda was stationed. “This guy was just pure evil,” said Pereda. “He was completely fearless and he could care less if he got recaptured.” The alarm was quickly spread throughout the area for the escapee, who was known for beheading his victims.
After hitching a ride with a local, the detainee hoped to escape through nearby checkpoints and into the countryside. But through the work of vigilant Iraqi policemen, many of them trained by Pereda and his company, the vehicle was identified and stopped before the detainee could escape.
While stories like this happen every day in Iraq, Pereda will be the first to admit that it’s an uphill battle. “I believe in the cause and the effort and my country. I have a lot of pride in serving my country. Even though there’s a saying the Marines wrote on a wall during the battle of Fallujah. It said, ‘America is not at war; the military is at war; America’s at the mall.’
“ Whatever the cause and whatever the need, Pereda will continue to serve his country and his community. He said, “I look at it as a blessing. God gave me the ability and put me in the right places to be there to help in whatever capacity I could, as small as it may be in the grand schemes.” Ask those Iraqi policemen, a stranded family in New Orleans, or the community of Clifton, New Jersey, and they will tell you that Pereda’s service is anything but small.
Yet, as he reflected on society’s current psyche, Pereda worried about the attitudes of modern men. He said, “I feel like our society is trending in a direction where it’s all about ‘me.’ It’s not about helping others. Instead of it being, what can I do to make my world better? it’s, what’s in it for me?
“I’ve served in both the Marines and the army and when I look at some of the values and principles the military tries to instill in their soldiers and Marines, it is integrity, honor, and loyalty. To sum it up, it’s someone doing the right thing, selfless service, and always putting others before you.”
Looming on the horizon for Pereda is a potential deployment to Afghanistan within the next year. Whether or not the next chapter of his life finds him in Afghanistan or back patrolling the streets of Clifton, Pereda remains a public servant at heart, as evidenced by his words: “I believe a man should be someone who’s strong in his convictions and someone who does the right thing even when no one is looking. If I’m not doing the right thing, how can I expect anyone else to do it? It starts with you.”