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Posted on 04/03/2004 7:15:41 AM PST by MontanaBeth
A roar erupted from a crowd of about 200 Friday afternoon as a C130 aircraft swooped down from a cloudless sky onto a runway at Glacier Park International Airport.
Flag-waving family members surged forward as the aircraft slowly lumbered over to Edwards Jet Center.
The soldiers of the Headquarters 495th Motor Transportation Battalion of the Montana National Guard were home.
"Oh my gosh I'm going to cry," Sarah Snyder said as she waited for her dad, Warrant Officer Steve Snyder.
As the ramp lowered from the huge plane, a color guard, Gov. Judy Martz and Maj. Gen. John Prendergast greeted the guardsman. Within minutes, families engulfed the soldiers dressed in crisp, camo battle dress uniforms.
According to Sgt. First Class Leslie Johnsrud, a roar also erupted inside the plane when the wheels touched down on the runway. Another reported screams, high-fives and astonishment at the airport welcome.
The 495th hadn't seen anything yet.
Crowds waited about an hour on Main Street to greet the returning 45 men and women. From Idaho Street to the U.S. 93 south armory, peopled lined both sides of Main, holding flags and home-made banners and posters expressing their thanks.
Mel Williams stood with her children, Jake and Mackenzie, at First Street and Main. They came to honor their neighbor, Dave Polanski, whose son Bryar shares rides with the Williams children each day to Petersen School.
"He sure missed his dad," Williams said.
As fire truck sirens and flashing lights signaled the procession's approach, more people poured out of businesses.
Cheers erupted as two Black Hawk helicoperts kicked off the welcome by flying low down the parade route.
Fire trucks, including units from West Valley and Columbia Falls, provided a rousing prelude to the procession. A military vehicle with the top Montana Guard brass headed up a convoy of private vehicles with soldiers and their families.
Smiles and thanks from the army of strangers on the streets triggered emotional reactions on the faces in the passing cars. The soldiers smiled, waved and dabbed tears from their faces.
The procession also included Kalispell Mayor Pam Kennedy.
"Kalispell really rocks," she said at the armory after the parade. "Could you believe the size of that crowd?"
A postal truck, decorated in yellow ribbons, joined the convoy along with fire trucks from Somers, Martin City and Bigfork. Children grinned and covered their ears as the crews accommodated the crowd with a cacophony of sirens.
The parade ended at the armory, where families and unit members returned for a final ceremony. The 495th members were almost stunned by the size of the welcome organized by the Family Readiness Group and community members.
"Oh the parade was wonderful," Chaplin and Lt. Col. Gale Everson said. "I couldn't believe the welcome."
He summed up the Iraq and Kuwait experience up as hot and dry.
"It was wonderful to smell the trees again," Everson said with a broad smile.
Spec. Theresa Colvin of Livingston termed the greeting as awesome.
"I started crying," she admitted with a grin.
At 20, she was the youngest and one of six women deployed with the 495th in Feb. 10, 2002. The unit trained at Fort Lewis in Washington for two months before joining Operation Iraqi Freedom in the final days of the major hostilities.
"It was a life-changing experience," she said.
Colvin said the exposure to the cullture changed her world view and made her appreciate the life we enjoy in the United States. She described the toliet facilities as consisting as a place for each foot over a hole in the ground.
"I'm looking forward to using a real bathroom," she said with a laugh.
Members of the West Valley School Band played some patriotic songs inside the armory as the soldiers filtered in from the parade. The students' vice principal, First Lt. Dan Anderson, was among the returning guardsman.
As strains of the Star Spangled Banner ended, the 495th soldiers were called into a final formation. Lt. Col. Matthew Quinn, the 495th commander, expressed the gratitude of the unit.
"I really appreciate what this community and these families did," he said. "This was one of the most touching events that I've ever witnessed."
He said the guardsmen were given a hero's welcome. But Quinn said that the families were included in the procession with the soldiers because he considered them the real heroes.
He continued that each member of the unit played an important role in the global war on terrorism.
He expressed his appreciation for a particular banner that expressed their mission.
"I saw a sign that said "Thanks for defending the defenseless," Quinn said as his voice cracked with emotion.
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