Thursday's Internet Edition, July 24, 2008.
big welcome
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Bryon Norman gets a welcome home from his daughter, Hailey, after National Guard soldiers from Spencer and Summersville returned to Yeagar Airport in Charleston after serving in Iraq.
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Publisher - Armed with brightly decorated posters, waving flags and full of anticipation, members of the crowd at the edge of the tarmac at Yeager Airport in Charleston Sunday afternoon tried hard to contain themselves.
Hundreds of family members and friends were on hand to greet soldiers of the W.Va. Army National Guard 821st Engineering Co. when they returned from Iraq.
When the three C-130 airplanes carrying about 90 soldiers from the Summersville area and another 50 from the Spencer armory landed, the anticipation grew.
And once members of the Air National Guard at Yeager gave the signal, the soldiers’ families and friends ran onto the runway to hug their loved ones as they got off the planes.
“It feels good,” Wes McKenzie of Reedy said as he received a big squeeze from his wife, Courtney, along with his parents and several other family members on hand to greet him.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day, and it didn’t get here quick enough,” McKenzie said.
The soldiers left Spencer and Summersville in July of last year and after about two months of training at Ft. McCoy, Wisc., were deployed to Iraq.
Stationed at Camp Liberty, the soldiers erected barriers to improve security for American and Iraqi forces and the local civilian population. They also cleared roadways of debris that could be used to conceal homemade bombs and made other improvements to help revitalize Sadr City neighborhoods.
Also on hand Sunday to greet the returning soldiers were Summersville Mayor Robert Shafer, State Senator Randy White (D-Webster), Wes Holden from the Charleston office of U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller and the adjutant general of the W.Va. National Guard, Maj. Gen. Allen Tackett.
“One year ago we saw all of you off not knowing what to expect,” Tackett said. “We brought every soldier home safe and sound.”
The W.Va. Army National Guard band played during the ceremony inside an Air Guard hangar bedecked with a huge American flag. Also attending were members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle group whose members accompanied buses that departed Spencer and Summersville with the same soldiers last year.
For Josh Cordeiro, who was greeted by his 1-1/2-year old daughter, Kaylie, and other family members, it was a second homecoming. Cordeiro was also part of the Spencer National Guard unit deployed to Iraq in 2003.
“The living conditions were a lot better this time,” Cordeiro said.
“The first time we went, there was nothing there. You pretty much had to fend for yourself,” according to Cordeiro, who said soldiers lived in tents before taking over an abandoned Iraqi military base.
This time they were stationed at Camp Liberty, which offered air-conditioned sleeping quarters and American fast food restaurants.
But Cordeiro said no matter how much some of the surroundings on the base might have been made to resemble the U.S., there was one thing he still missed.
“Family,” he said. “It feels good to be back home.”
During the deployment, Tackett said soldiers from the 821st received 27 Bronze Star medals with valor and 45 Army Commendation medals.
“Before you stand some of the best heroes in the state of West Virginia,” Tackett told the crowd as the soldiers stood in formation.
Then, turning his attention to the soldiers themselves, Tackett said, “Everybody in the state is proud of your dedication, sacrifice and service.”
