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Monday, June 9, 2008
Fly a flag for the Rocky Mount troops; the military police unit is headed home
Grab the kids, fly a flag and say a prayer. The 1132nd is headed home.
The military police company from Rocky Mount flew into Gulfport, Miss., Saturday and is scheduled to return to Rocky Mount between 4:30 and 5 p.m. Tuesday at Rocky Mount-Wilson Airport.
An official welcome home ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday in Rocky Mount. It will be held at 1 p.m. in Englewood Baptist Church on Winstead Avenue.
The military police unit of the National Guard shipped out of Rocky Mount about a year ago. The troops have spent the past nine months in Iraq and have seen things that no one should ever have to see - death, catastrophic injuries and more.
All the more reason to take a little time Tuesday to offer a prayer, a salute and thanks.
It would be wonderful to have a crowd of folks at the airport to welcome home the troops. Anyone who attended the city’s homecoming celebration for a quartermaster unit out of Nashville two years ago knows how moving the event can be.
At the very least, if your business has a sign outside that can be changed easily, why not offer some encouraging words to the 1132nd? And feel free to post your own wishes here, as well.
The 1132nd has faced tough going since its arrival in Iraq. Five soldiers lost their lives — Sgt. Thomas C. Ray II, 40, of Weaverville; Sgt. David B. Williams, 26, of Tarboro; Sgt. David S. Stelmat, 27, of LIttleton, N.H.; Staff Sgt. Emanuel Pickett, 34, of Wallace; and Sgt. Lance O. Eakes, 25, of Apex.
Other troops in the unit are fighting back from injuries sustained during their stay in South Baghdad.
A press release from the National Guard office in Raleigh soberly noted: “During the deployment, the 1132nd served with great distinction and suffered the heaviest casualties of any NC National Guard Company since World War II.”
Our troops are more than worth a salute from the rest of us.
