LINDA DeNICOLA John (l) and Gisela Vaccaro were happy to welcome home their son, U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class John Joseph “J.J.” Vaccaro Jr., 19, who recently saw duty in Iraq.

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Jan. 25 was a proud and happy day for John and Gisela Vaccaro, the parents of U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class John Joseph "J.J." Vaccaro Jr., 19, who is home on leave after a tour of duty in Iraq.

His parents threw their son a big welcome home party at the Freehold Township Senior Center to share their joy and relief over J.J.’s return from overseas unharmed. At the party, J.J. had an opportunity to reconnect with friends, family, teachers, coaches and well-wishers he might not otherwise have had enough time to see since he was only going to be home for about two weeks.

He also had a chance to hold his 2-month-old sister, Jenna, who was born while he was in Iraq.

John and Gisela are divorced and John is remarried, hence the new baby. John lives in Howell and Gisela lives in Freehold Township.

In addition to J.J., Gisela and John have another son, Joey, 17, and a daughter, Barbara, 22. Joey said he has no desire to follow in his brother’s footsteps even though the Army has tried to recruit him. He will graduate from high school in June and has applied to several colleges.

John Vaccaro is obviously proud of all four of his children, but it was his oldest son’s day. He greeted people as they came in and pointed them toward J.J. and the buffet table as Gisela moved among the tables greeting people.

Vaccaro said he was very happy his son was home.

"Although I was worried, I supported John’s decision to join the Army right after the Sept. 11 attacks. He was a senior at Freehold Borough High School at the time. Right after he graduated in 2002 he joined and was sent to Fort Benning, Ga., for boot camp," he said.

J.J. became a specialist in long-range satellite communications.

"After that he went to jump school at Fort Benning. He said he wanted to jump out of planes," his father added.

J.J. now serves with a special operations unit, the First Battalion, Seventy-Fifth Ranger Regiment, and spent the holidays serving his country in Iraq. He was unable to say how long he was in Iraq or where he served. Just about everything is classified information, he explained.

What he did say was, "I saw a lot of things I didn’t want to see. Being over there has given me a totally different outlook. I don’t take any day for granted."

J.J. said he thought he was well prepared for what he had to do.

"It became second nature. Everyone has a job to do," he said, adding, "I’m glad to be home and glad to see everyone."

J.J. won’t be home for long. He is going back to Georgia on Feb. 6 and said he may be deployed again in April, although he does not know where he will be sent.

All of his family members said they were grateful to be able to talk with him by telephone or e-mail while he was in Iraq.

J.J.’s sister, Barbara, said she spoke to him often, but added, "It was hard because there was a lot that he couldn’t talk about."

Gisela remembered the day J.J.’s family members found out he was being deployed overseas.

"One day he called me from Fort Benning. We had a normal conversation. A half-hour later he called again and said he was being deployed," she said.

Three days later, Gisela and John flew to Georgia to see J.J. before he left the United States.

"We found out on Thursday and flew out on Monday. We saw him for lunch and dinner on Monday and then for about 40 minutes at the airport on Tuesday. He was called rather quickly," she said.

Everyone in the family agreed that having close friends and family helped them get through the hard time when J.J. was overseas. At the homecoming party there were about 75 people on hand — friends, family, teachers, coaches and neighbors.

J.J.’s close friend, John Joseph "J.T." Texido, was there. The two young men have been friends since kindergarten. Both boys went to the Applegate School, the Eisenhower Middle School and Freehold Borough High School.

J.T. said he supported J.J.’s decision to enlist in the armed forces, but did not want to join him in the service and opted for college instead. J.J. and J.T. kept in touch by telephone and e-mail.

"He’s a great kid and has a great family," J.T. said.

On Jan. 28 the Township Committee honored J.J. at its regular meeting. Mayor Dorothy Avallone called him a part of the Freehold Township family, especially since he was born at CentraState Medical Center and grew up in the township.

After reading a proclamation commending him for his bravery and sacrifices, the committee members stood and encouraged everyone in the room, which was full to overflowing, to stand and applaud J.J., who was wearing his dress uniform.

Committeeman David Salkin presented J.J. with an American flag.

"If possible, fly this on your base," he said.