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Published On: Dec 27, 2005 07:45 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Dec 27, 2005 07:45 AM
Local Guard unit deploys
Local Guard unit
deploys
By SHANNON E. KOLKEDY
ST. MARYS -- Operation Iraqi Freedom hit home Saturday in St. Marys and neighboring communities as nearly 120 local Ohio National Guardsmen departed for combat in Iraq.
Hundreds of family members and friends of the soldiers packed the Memorial High School gymnasium Saturday as part of a farewell ceremony for the 612th Engineer Battalion Alpha Company.
The crowd waved American flags in a patriotic fervor and snapped last-minute photographs with the hopes of the images offering solace in the long months ahead. The Memorial High School Band provided patriotic music for the ceremony, causing tears to stream down the faces of many in attendance.
Ohio's Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Gregory Wayt, one of Saturday's many featured speakers, praised the dedication and the service of the Alpha Company.
"Time magazine called the soldier the person of the year," Wayt said, "and these are your people of the year."
The Alpha Company has two important missions while serving in Iraq, according to Wayt. They will take care of every soldier in their company and will bring back every soldier in their company.
"Each of you in this unit ... are writing a new chapter in the history of the Ohio National Guard, and for that we are proud," Wayt said. "I want to thank each member of the this unit and their families. God bless each one of you, and God bless America. You will be in our prayers."
Ohio First Lady Hope Taft also offered words of comfort to the soldiers and their loved ones, drawing on her and Gov. Bob Taft's own experience of living in separate countries.
"We knew if we could survive that separation, we could survive almost anything," she said, "and we know that you will too."
Taft also encouraged local churches, schools and businesses to register on a newly developed Web site, www.homefront.ohio.gov, that offers support to deployed military personnel and their families.
"It is our way to show our support for the unit and their families," she said.
The nearly 120 soldiers of the St. Marys-based Alpha Company will spend the next few weeks extensively training for their mission at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, Ind. The Alpha Company will join more than 480 members of the 612th Engineer Battalion from Norwalk, Tiffin, Fremont and Walbridge, who have also received deployment orders. The deployment marks the first for Alpha Company since World War II.
From Indiana, the 612th Engineer Battalion will then travel to Kuwait before finally arriving in Iraq. The unit is expected to spend at least 12 months serving as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"I know that the soldiers of the Alpha Company are the best," Company Commander Cpt. Kevin Bigenho told the crowd Saturday. "They are the best trained soldiers and the best people I know."
Bigenho also praised the families for their understanding of the unit's task at hand and asked for continued support.
"We know that your thoughts and prayers will be with us until we return home safely," he said. "And our thoughts and our prayers will be with you."
Saturday's turnout was a vote of confidence for the soldiers deploying to Iraq.
"I'm glad we have all these people behind us when we go over," Pfc. Josh Henline of St. Marys. Henline, whose father is a Master Sergeant in the National Guard, joined the National Guard about 18 months ago and calls the Alpha Company a second family.
"As long as people keep us in our prayers is all I ask for," Henline said.
For Pfc. Brandon Baker, of Avon Lake, the support of the local community was a surprise.
"I think it was great," he said. "There really were a lot more people than I expected. I think it came together good with all the support from the school and the families."
While Pvt. Travis Copeland, of Wapakoneta, will complete his senior year at Apollo Career Center in Lima before receiving his deployment orders, he agreed that Saturday's ceremony was a great effort by the community.
"I thought it was great that they were showing their support," he said.
While many of the soldiers expressed their disbelief of the support Saturday, local recruiting officer, Sgt. 1st Class Keith Neighbors said he knew the residents and businesses of St. Marys had the unit in their thoughts from the beginning.
"I kept telling them that this community wants to support this unit," Neighbors said. "It was great."
Family members and friends lined South Street in front of Memorial High School to bid farewell to the soldiers as the boarded buses bound for Indiana. Color Guards from Veterans of Foreign Wars posts across District 2 stood proudly nearby. Nearly a dozen squad cars from the St. Marys Police Department and the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office and a fire engine from the St. Marys Fire Department gave the the soldiers a hero's escort from Saturday's ceremony.
St. Marys Mayor Greg Freewalt announced that Saturday would be set aside as a day to recognize the service of the 612th Engineer Battalion.
"The word pride has taken its definition from you," he said. "I have never seen so much shine in the our city as I do today."
By SHANNON E. KOLKEDY
ST. MARYS -- Operation Iraqi Freedom hit home Saturday in St. Marys and neighboring communities as nearly 120 local Ohio National Guardsmen departed for combat in Iraq.
Hundreds of family members and friends of the soldiers packed the Memorial High School gymnasium Saturday as part of a farewell ceremony for the 612th Engineer Battalion Alpha Company.
The crowd waved American flags in a patriotic fervor and snapped last-minute photographs with the hopes of the images offering solace in the long months ahead. The Memorial High School Band provided patriotic music for the ceremony, causing tears to stream down the faces of many in attendance.
Ohio's Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Gregory Wayt, one of Saturday's many featured speakers, praised the dedication and the service of the Alpha Company.
"Time magazine called the soldier the person of the year," Wayt said, "and these are your people of the year."
The Alpha Company has two important missions while serving in Iraq, according to Wayt. They will take care of every soldier in their company and will bring back every soldier in their company.
"Each of you in this unit ... are writing a new chapter in the history of the Ohio National Guard, and for that we are proud," Wayt said. "I want to thank each member of the this unit and their families. God bless each one of you, and God bless America. You will be in our prayers."
Ohio First Lady Hope Taft also offered words of comfort to the soldiers and their loved ones, drawing on her and Gov. Bob Taft's own experience of living in separate countries.
"We knew if we could survive that separation, we could survive almost anything," she said, "and we know that you will too."
Taft also encouraged local churches, schools and businesses to register on a newly developed Web site, www.homefront.ohio.gov, that offers support to deployed military personnel and their families.
"It is our way to show our support for the unit and their families," she said.
The nearly 120 soldiers of the St. Marys-based Alpha Company will spend the next few weeks extensively training for their mission at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, Ind. The Alpha Company will join more than 480 members of the 612th Engineer Battalion from Norwalk, Tiffin, Fremont and Walbridge, who have also received deployment orders. The deployment marks the first for Alpha Company since World War II.
From Indiana, the 612th Engineer Battalion will then travel to Kuwait before finally arriving in Iraq. The unit is expected to spend at least 12 months serving as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"I know that the soldiers of the Alpha Company are the best," Company Commander Cpt. Kevin Bigenho told the crowd Saturday. "They are the best trained soldiers and the best people I know."
Bigenho also praised the families for their understanding of the unit's task at hand and asked for continued support.
"We know that your thoughts and prayers will be with us until we return home safely," he said. "And our thoughts and our prayers will be with you."
Saturday's turnout was a vote of confidence for the soldiers deploying to Iraq.
"I'm glad we have all these people behind us when we go over," Pfc. Josh Henline of St. Marys. Henline, whose father is a Master Sergeant in the National Guard, joined the National Guard about 18 months ago and calls the Alpha Company a second family.
"As long as people keep us in our prayers is all I ask for," Henline said.
For Pfc. Brandon Baker, of Avon Lake, the support of the local community was a surprise.
"I think it was great," he said. "There really were a lot more people than I expected. I think it came together good with all the support from the school and the families."
While Pvt. Travis Copeland, of Wapakoneta, will complete his senior year at Apollo Career Center in Lima before receiving his deployment orders, he agreed that Saturday's ceremony was a great effort by the community.
"I thought it was great that they were showing their support," he said.
While many of the soldiers expressed their disbelief of the support Saturday, local recruiting officer, Sgt. 1st Class Keith Neighbors said he knew the residents and businesses of St. Marys had the unit in their thoughts from the beginning.
"I kept telling them that this community wants to support this unit," Neighbors said. "It was great."
Family members and friends lined South Street in front of Memorial High School to bid farewell to the soldiers as the boarded buses bound for Indiana. Color Guards from Veterans of Foreign Wars posts across District 2 stood proudly nearby. Nearly a dozen squad cars from the St. Marys Police Department and the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office and a fire engine from the St. Marys Fire Department gave the the soldiers a hero's escort from Saturday's ceremony.
St. Marys Mayor Greg Freewalt announced that Saturday would be set aside as a day to recognize the service of the 612th Engineer Battalion.
"The word pride has taken its definition from you," he said. "I have never seen so much shine in the our city as I do today."
Posted: Mon - November 15, 2004 at 09:44 AM