CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, Oct. 24, 2005 — There are three Vikings serving for the deployed forces of the U.S. Army. These Vikings aren’t the ones of Nordic fame, but they do share a common bond. The three soldiers are actually Northwest High School Vikings from Clarksville, Tenn. Thirty years after graduation, the long-lost troops have found each other in the most unlikely of places – Iraq. As a graduate of the NHS Class of 1973, Col. James H. Huggins II, Multi-National Corps - Iraq inspector general, was sitting in a briefing inspecting a personnel chart when he happened to notice a familiar name. It was that of Maj. Parris McCullah, the stay-behind equipment liaison for the MNC-I Reserve Component Division and member of the NHS Class of 1974. The two had classes together in their high school days, and once Huggins saw that his former classmate was deployed to Camp Victory as well, he got in touch with McCullah over dinner. “We got together at the chow hall to shoot the breeze and catch up on old times,” Huggins said. But there was one more Viking out there, and Huggins knew this one was on the same camp as McCullah and him. While the two were catching up over dinner, Huggins relayed this interesting piece of information to McCullah. “Hey, did you know Mike Fant is here?” Huggins asked his former classmate. “You’ve got to be joking me!” replied McCullah. “No, I’m not. Matter of fact,” Huggins grinned, pointed a finger, and said, “there he goes right there!” Col. Mike Fant, graduate from the NHS Class of 1975 and now the commander of the 525th Military Intelligence Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C., had just walked into the dining facility, Huggins explained. Three former Vikings got together as soldiers and finished their meals while chatting of life back then. They had to go their separate ways, but not before a snapshot was taken of the three outside one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces. Growing up, McCullah had lived down the road from Huggins. The former was a suburbanite, while the latter was out in the country. The two had class |