Posted on 01/17/2006 10:59:47 PM PST by Swordmaker
Hugs, kisses after seeing war up close
The shrieking and shouting, the first signs of tears and trembling hands, began at 1:57 p.m. as men, women and children stood on folding metal chairs Monday to peer over a tall fence onto the tarmac at Sacramento International Airport. . . .
. . . Then came the roar. And more tears - tears of joy and anticipation and frayed nerves. The chartered jet was in view, taxiing toward them.
War-weary California National Guardsmen were arriving after 18 months away from home - a full year of it in the thick of combat in Iraq. The returning guardsmen are members of the Modesto-based 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, which has seen some of the heaviest action and had one of the highest injury tolls of any unit of its kind since the Korean War, authorities said. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
About 30 minutes before the 2 p.m. charter touched down, Phillip Parkinson passed time in the airport with his daughter and his mother, Ruth Parkinson. His brother, Sgt. 1st Class Greg Parkinson of Citrus Heights, would not be flying into Sacramento for another day because he re-enlisted in the military full time and had been assigned to a new battalion. But the Parkinsons wanted to show their support nonetheless.
"I'm proud of him, but there was a lot of concern," said Phillip Parkinson. "I watched the news a lot, and every time you hear the casualty report, you wonder if it's him. You go through it every day."
"These guys have gone to hell and back," said Ruth Parkinson when asked why she was at the homecoming. "They suffered a lot of hits, and they deserve a hero's welcome."
Greg Parkinson's (Freeper jmpmstr4u2) Mother, Ruth Parkinson (Freepper SoldiersPrayingMom).
PS... Greg flew in today... he's home.
Prayers for those heroes arriving home!
Welcome home Greg. God bless you! Hero!
Welcome home, Greg!! Great job!!
God bless you all!!
Greg and Tammy Parkinson and their two daughters...a very happy family
Greg's oldest daughter broke her arm yesterday helping her sister play on a jungle gym. Her tee shirt, sent to her by Greg from Bahgdad reads "Who's your BahgDaddy?"
Greg and his girls.
Celebrating!
Welcome Home! Bless You and Thank You All!
Welcome Home Greg, God Bless You and your family
Great thread!
Thanks Swordmaker.
Put my sign out next to Old Glory this morning...
I'm SOOOOOO happy for you!!! What a good day for your family!
(18 months! Wow, that's a long one!!)
Great pics! Great family!! We're so proud and thankful for you all!!
Welcome home 184th!!
Welcome home.
And thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Wish I could claim them... but Greg is the son of a friend... SoldiersPrayingMom.... and those are her Granddaughters and daughter-in-law!
Welcome home patriot.
You are my hero.
Thank You, for all of your love and support throughout jmpmstr4u2's deployment in Iraq. Life really got pretty hairy-scarey at times but our FReeper Family really helped jerk us up by our bootstraps in word, deeds and prayers.
There hasn't been one FReeper that when called on, did not come thru with lots o' love and caring. From the bottom of my heart, that in itself is a very humbling experience. There were days that I truly didn't think I could bear anymore stress, but the Lord always seemed to lay it on the heart of La...'dita, bethtopaz or someone to give me an uplifting call or send a card, ping, post or FReepmail. There are just too many FReeper to name, but ya'll know who you are and you are the best of the Best!! Believe it !!!!
If it weren't for the Lord on our side and working in our lives, the privilege of going before His Throne of Grace with our petitions, His love and answering our prayers, personally, I really don't no where I would be without Him.
Until last winter, I had no Idea what FreeRepublic.com was all about, in fact I
had never heard of it until my dear friend Swordmaker ask if he could post one of jmpmstr4u2's letters on FR. I had to ask,"what's that all about?" From that point on, it was the trip back to Crawford, Tx with the "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" tour that was the real clincher. That is where I met JimRob, Sheila, Syncro, Kristinn, Basil, La Enchiladita and so many wonderful and dedicated people from FreeRepubic. Your love of Truth, God and Country and alot of fun thrown in, just about says it all.
May God Bless You All Richly,
SoldiersPrayingMom
Welcome home, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment!!!
Welcome home, Greg!! Heal well.
BTTT
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