Concord celebrates Marine's return

Contra Costa Times ^ | 7/25/5 | Tom Lochner

[SmithL]

CONCORD - Amid growing concern across the nation about the war in Iraq, Concord on Sunday celebrated the homecoming of one of its sons, the sixth such event in a tradition that began earlier this year.

Marine Sgt. Kevin Tillman, 25, a 1998 graduate of Concord High School, served in Kuwait and Iraq from March 2003 to September 2003. Tillman, a Contra Costa County Sheriff's deputy, is in the Individual Ready Reserve and could get called up again.

"God bless America. We are blessed with these people who are still willing to stand up and serve," said Dave McDonald, immediate past president of the Korean War Veterans' Mt. Diablo chapter and the master of ceremonies for Sunday's event at the Concord Veterans Memorial Building, which was attended by Mayor Laura Hoffmeister and Councilman Bill Shinn.

"This is no ordinary guy," McDonald continued, lauding Tillman and other returning members of the armed forces who go into law enforcement or the fire service.

McDonald also praised the valor of Tillman's family -- his parents Robert and Cookie Tillman, his twin brother Scott, and sisters Amber and Heather.

"It's never routine when a soldier goes off to war," McDonald said. "These people, in every family, go to war, too. Every minute their young soldier is in harm's way, they are, too."

Kevin Tillman did his best to help his loved ones through months of anxious waiting and worrying about his fate, writing long letters that were instructional as well as touching, said his mother, citing her son's description of a flight on "a plane so big, they actually played football in there."

"I'm impressed that he's my son," said Robert Tillman, a retired San Francisco MUNI bus and trolley driver. "He had such a positive attitude. All the time he was overseas, he never complained about the heat."

Kevin Tillman's service in the Middle East spanned that region's hottest months. The National Weather Service forecast temperatures in Baghdad at 114 degrees Sunday and 120 degrees Monday.

One did not need to open envelopes and read Tillman's letters to learn something about the man. On display at the ceremony was an album of the envelopes, lavishly illustrated, revealing imagination, humor and a sharp eye for detail, not to mention obvious talent. There were drawings of motorcycles, cars, desert islands, a church, a lighthouse on a rock, playing cards, cartoon figures and caricatures, including one of a jovial Saddam Hussein next to a sheepish John Kerry.

Many were to "Nique," "Niq" or "Neeka," his girlfriend, Dominique Hagen, who graduated from Concord High a year before Tillman. "Wanted: Nique Hagen," read one, with the address field a mock wanted poster.

"I wanted to write one letter a day to ease the tension over the reality of war," Tillman said. "If she had something to look forward to and open, it would put her mind at ease."

Blue Star Moms sponsored the ceremony along with the city of Concord. The group, with 140 moms from Livermore to Vacaville, emphasizes support for America's troops, regardless of one's politics, said its president, Deb Saunders of Concord.

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Tom Lochner covers West Contra Costa County. Reach him at 510-262-2760 or tlochner@cctimes.com.

[SmithL]

Welcome Home, Marine!

[chapin2500]

Welcome home Sgt. Kevin Tillman. Thank you for your service!

[Dog]

Someone for your site..

[Coop]

Fill out a nomination form. :-)

[Dog]

Paperwork....sheesh...:_)

[Coop]

Cyberpaper.