Posted on 04/26/2004 5:13:01 AM PDT by The Mayor
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THE WEEKEND THREAD
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105th makes it home
Military police unit ends 15 months of duty
Eric Wilson and fiancee Jessica Brys embrace amid a sea of humanity that was the 105th's homecoming.
Staff Sgt. Michael S. Hoffman basks in a round of smiles with his wife, Sue, and daughter, Kaylin,
during their reunion at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Base. The Hoffmans live in Amherst.
Kelly McMillin, the widow of Sgt. Heath A. McMillin, was on hand for Saturday's
homecoming at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Base.
"Dismissed!" Capt. Michael Fowler roared to the Army National Guard's 105th Military Police Company.
A brief ceremony at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station brought an end to a grueling 15-month deployment in the Iraq War that killed two members, wounded several others and tested the company's readiness in battle more than 60 times. "The soldiers standing before you today are truly heroes. They have sweated together, fought together and at times bled together for the past year," Fowler told an estimated 2,000 relatives and friends who gathered to welcome home their loved ones.
But before the hoopla started, the 120 soldiers remained on the tarmac beside the three jets that had carried them home and paid special tribute to the widow of 29-year-old Sgt. Heath A. McMillin. Kelly McMillin, 31, of Canandaigua, accepted the condolences of the soldiers as each presented her with a red, white or blue carnation.
"I'm just glad they're home, but obviously I wish I was standing behind the yellow line with the others," McMillin said, moments after the noon tribute.
Carolyn Williams, the widow of Spc. Michael L. Williams, 46, was unable to attend, so the 105th arranged to deliver two dozen long-stemmed white roses to her Buffalo home.
"Some days are harder than others, and obviously today is one of those days. But Heath would have done it all again the same way," Kelly McMillin said of her husband's dedication to the country.
After a short march beneath a makeshift "arch of triumph" - the extended aerial ladders of two fire trucks tethered to a massive American flag that waved in the wind - the soldiers entered a sprawling airplane hangar to the patriotic tunes of an 11-piece military band.
"Today is a day of thanksgiving. The 105th is home. Mission accomplished," said Col. Michael Swezey, head of the 53rd Troop Command, which encompasses the 105th.
Our Western New Yorkers serving..
Our Western New Yorkers serving..
Read: Hebrews 12:1-11
No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. —Hebrews 12:11.
Bible In One Year: 2 Samuel 23-24; Luke 19:1-27
The Lord immediately began rebuilding me, applying truths from His Word to teach me trust and faith. Gradually He changed me into the joyful, God-dependent person He intended me to be. Through this painful but profitable experience, I learned that when God disciplines us, our greatest gain isn't what we get but what we become.
In Hebrews 12, we read that our heavenly Father loves us too dearly to let us remain immature. Like any loving father, He disciplines, corrects, and trains us—often through difficult situations. God uses our times of struggle to help us grow and make us more holy (vv.10-11).
Many people are motivated to live for health, wealth, and ease, and they try to avoid pain at all costs. But the abundant life that God intends for His people isn't trouble-free. Growth and change are often unsettling, but the gain is worth the pain. —Joanie Yoder
Mornin', everybody ! Happy Monday !
FR is finally back up !
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