Valley lieutenant finds love in Iraqi combat zone

From the grim reality of war comes a photograph of a young smiling couple on CNN’s “Salute the Troops” tribute.

The faces are those of Rio Grande Valley native U.S. Army 1st Lt. Cameron D. Maples, 25, and 2nd Lt. Lindsay Duquette, 24, of Florida. The two were deployed to Iraq with the Hawaii-based 209th ASB, 25th ID from July 2006 to November of this year.

The photograph was taken this summer, before a mission in Baghdad, where their convoy was struck by an explosive device.

They survived.

Some didn’t.

They are now planning a May wedding.

“I was very surprised that of all places I would find love in a war zone,” Maples said. “It was love at first sight for me. She says the same thing now, but I don’t know; I think she thought I was a dork at first.”

Son of U.S. Army Ret. Col. William Maples of Harlingen and Patricia Guillermo Williams of Brownsville and New York, Cameron Maples’ heritage is one of tradition.

Born in San Benito and raised in Harlingen, he graduated from Texas A&M University, where he was a member of its Corps of Cadets. He comes from families that serve their country — from his great-grandfather Frank Williams Sr., a cavalry soldier with the U.S. Army at Fort Brown, to his great uncle David Williams, killed in Vietnam, to his father, who served with the Special Forces in Korea and Vietnam.

Cameron’s brother, U.S. Army Capt. Austin P. Maples, is stationed in Iraq after a first tour in Afghanistan.

From the Williamses, Lozanos, Garzas and Trzaskomas on his mother’s side, to the Mapleses on his father’s side — including uncle Francis Leroy “Pancho” Maples of La Feria who was killed in Vietnam — Cameron’s lineage is steeped in service to this country.

So is Duquette’s.

The graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Her father, Ray Duquette of Florida, was a fighter pilot and is in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. Her grandfathers, George Duquette and Charles Holzman, served in the U.S. Navy and Air Force, respectively.

“I always grew up with the understanding that our country gave so much for us that everyone should do at least a little bit to give something back,” Duquette said.

But she never expected to meet her future husband in Iraq.

“I went into the deployment making it a point not to get involved with anybody there. We first became really good friends, started hanging out and it evolved from that,” she said.

“I personally think it’s great. You can meet the love of your life anywhere, and it will be Iraq for us.”

It hasn’t been easy for the couple.

“While we were in Iraq, she was doing combat missions that I was not on and I was doing missions that she was not on, so it was very stressful when we were out and not with each other,” Maples said. “We’re working with the Army to make sure that if we do deploy again, we’ll be at least in the same unit, but we don’t know how it’s going to work.

“It’s very stressful since we both know exactly what we do and we both know exactly what to

expect. It just makes us worry a lot more than usual.”

For now, both plan to stay in the military and take one step at a time.

“Both of the families really want a wedding and it’s going to be one of the biggest weddings that the families have seen,” Maples predicted.