Friday, November 12, 2004
HATTIESBURG, Miss - Two-year-old Robert Kimery, with red and white balloons in hand, stood at attention Thursday and saluted thousands of National Guard soldiers who will soon be heading to Iraq.
"I'm proud of all of them for what they're doing," Regina Kimery said as she kept watch over her son while searching for her husband during the send-off ceremony at Camp Shelby. "I worry about him and I want him to come home safe."
A delegation of officials from the Lakeway Area attended the send-off Thursday, including George McGuffin, Morristown Mayor Gary Johnson, County Commission Chair Joe Spoone, Hamblen County Mayor David Purkey, Sen. Steve Southerland Larry Mullins and Tribune Assistant Publisher Mike Fishman.
"As a former member of the 278th it was a very emotional trip to Mississippi for the ceremony," Purkey said. "While the ceremony was going on, I observed several thousand troops soon to be deployed and I began to realize what the important things in life consist of.
"I would not have been anywhere else on Veterans Day." Staff Sgt. Earnest Kimery, 42, of Greeneville, is one of about 4,000 Guardsmen from six states who will be deploying in the next two weeks as part of the Tennessee National Guard's 278th Regimental Combat Team.
Senator Steve Southerland (R-Morristown) says, "I am proud of the men and women who have made a sacrifice to protect our nation and fight for freedom and democracy around the world. The taste of freedom of is sweet and the Iraq people have had a small taste of that now.
"That is why we are seeing something we would have never seen last year-Iraq and American soldiers fighting side by side to wipe out terrorism."
Charles Southerland, who hosted the delegation from the Lakeway Area, said, "It's a hard thing to leave our family.
"But, we look forward to our mission and to serving. We appreciate the families, community, churches and employers for their unending support. They don't know how much that means to receive something from home during deployment."
Thousands of people from across the country, many carrying balloons and wearing yellow ribbons, were on hand for the Veterans Day send-off for soldiers from Tennessee, Wisconsin, Texas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont.
The soldiers - more than 3,200 from Tennessee - have been training at the sprawling 136,0000-acre Mississippi National Guard facility since June, with a brief stint at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin in California's Mojave Desert.
The some 3,000 seats available for the ceremony quickly filled with family and well-wishers as the soldiers paraded under overcast skies with M1 Abrams tanks and a crane topped by a large American flag in the background.
The overflow crowd spilled onto the damp, grassy parade ground at the camp south of Hattiesburg.
Also on hand were the governors of Tennessee and Mississippi, the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, officials from the six states and military officials. This is the first time the entire 278th has deployed since the Korean War and is Tennessee's largest deployment since World War II.
The 278th commander, Col. Dennis Adams, said he chose Camp Shelby for his unit's training because it was the only base that could accommodate the entire regiment. He said the unit is scheduled ship out Sunday.
Gov. Haley Barbour said during the ceremony he is pleased that Mississippi's Camp Shelby was chosen as the training site.
"On behalf of our state, our fellow citizens, we wish you great success, continued strength and total victory in what you do for our country and for the cause of freedom in the world. God bless you, and God's speed."
The regiment will leave for Kuwait to replace about 4,800 soldiers assigned to North Carolina's 30th Infantry Brigade from Clinton, N.C.
The 30th patrols towns and borders while training Iraqi National Guard soldiers and working with the Iraqi police force near the border of Iran in northeast Iraq, according to Sgt. Marcus Spade of the North Carolina National Guard.
Chief of the National Guard Bureau in Washington D.C., Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, drew applause from the crowd when he hailed the role of the citizen soldier in today's military.
One woman wiped tears from her eyes as she was helped to her feet from a wheelchair to stand for the national anthem. She stood stoically with her hand trembling on a cane throughout the ceremony.
"This nation should never send its young men and women to war without the National Guard," Blum said. "When you call out the National Guard, you call out America. And when America joins the fight, there can be no other outcome than victory."
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen thanked the soldiers for their service. "It's fitting that on Veteran's Day, where we remember the sacrifices of those who defended our country, it's also fitting that we honor the new generation of heroes."
The Tennessee-led regiment includes soldiers from E Battery, 101st Field Artillery from Rehoboth, Mass.; the 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry from Eau Claire, Wis.; the 386th Combat Engineer Battalion headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas; the 250th Signal Battalion, Company A from Westfield, N.J.; and the 24th Military Police Company from Northfield, Vt., according to National Guard public affairs officers in those states.
Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton said the military is made up of individuals who bring their own values to the team.
"We wish you every success in bringing your nation's ethics and your integrity to foster a just democracy in Iraq where children may once again flourish," Lawton said.
Many of the troops in the 278th expressed sadness at leaving their families but said they are prepared to do their duty.
"Everybody I am going with are a great bunch of guys," said 44-year-old Sgt. William "Bill" Cagle of Athens, Tenn. "If I stay with them, I'll be all right."
Sgt. James E. Thompson, 44, of Morristown, gunner on an Abrams tank, said he is confident in his training and the quality of his equipment. "I just want everybody to keep us in their prayers so we can get over there and get the job done and get back to our families," he said.
©Citizen Tribune 2004
Story Copyright to Citizen Tribune