After a 14-month deployment to Iraq and a 21/2-week vacation in Maine, a Hermon native found himself on Monday night sitting directly behind the first lady listening to his commander in chief deliver the State of Union address.

Staff Sgt. Craig Charloux, 38, was among 27 guests invited to sit in the first lady’s box as President Bush delivered his annual message to Congress.

“I was selected for this extreme honor and opportunity by a group of sergeant majors looking for someone who served in Iraq and experienced the deployment,” Charloux said by telephone just hours before the address.

Charloux, a Hermon native, attended Hermon High School, and has three siblings who live in the town and another who resides in Newport. His parents, Raymond and Joyce Charloux, recently moved to Winter Haven, Fla., according to his sister Michelle Reynolds. His father, Raymond, served in the Korean War, and his uncle also served in the Army, Charloux said.

“I was brought up in a very patriotic home,” he said.

Charloux enlisted in the Army after high school and was on alert during Desert Storm, but did not deploy, he said. After leaving the military, Charloux owned an automobile repair shop in Hermon, and later re-enlisted in the Army in 2005. In total to date, he has served nine years in the military.

His re-enlistment “was a result of 9-11, and the other reason I came back in the Army was because I was missing the Army,” he said Monday.

Once back serving in the U.S. Army, Charloux was assigned to the 1st Calvary Division out of Fort Hood, Texas. He deployed for 14 months to Diyala Province, Iraq, in 2006, where he served as a squad leader in an Armored Reconnaissance Squadron. Charloux’s squad was ambushed during a raid in September 2007, and his arm, face, eyes and leg were injured by two grenade blasts. Despite his wounds, Charloux called for a medical evacuation of his soldiers and the raid collected a large quantity of enemy weapons and explosives and resulted in the deaths of eight al-Qaida operatives.

Charloux has received two National Defense Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, an Army Good Conduct Medal and soon will be awarded a Purple Heart for his service. Although wounded in combat, Charloux did not leave Iraq immediately, and only reunited with his wife, Bobbi Jo, and son, Stephen, 9, at the end of his deployment on Nov. 26, 2007.

Charloux and his wife and son were just in Maine, visiting family and enjoying the snow in Greenville, he said Monday while getting ready for the event. Reynolds said her whole Maine family would be watching for Charloux on television, and the event “is very exciting for everyone.”

When asked to weigh in on troop withdrawals and some of the timelines outlined by campaigning presidential candidates, Charloux responded, “As an NCO [non-commissioned officer] in the U.S. Army I concentrate on the duties of my soldiers and perform the mission given to me.”

Charloux and his wife were also scheduled to attend a reception at the White House on Monday evening before the State of the Union address. From there, the soldier was to continue on to the U.S. House of Representatives chambers for the address, while Bobbi Jo stayed behind at the president’s home. Charloux also said he was scheduled to attend other receptions after the event and would be unable to talk to a reporter about his night until Tuesday.

“I would like to thank my wife and son, and parents and my entire family for being supportive,” he said.

trobbins@bangordailynews.net

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