Soldier send-off
Stryker Brigade treated to farewell parade before Iraq deploymentBy Greg Bock, gbock@altoonamirror.com
Article Photos
TYRONE - The members of Detachment One, Charlie Company, Second Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment were greeted by rousing applause and a flurry of flags Wednesday as they marched past saluting veterans onto Gray-Veterans Memorial Field.
''This is a stop on the road to liberty,'' Lt. Col. Samuel Hayes III said as he thanked the hundreds who packed the bleachers to honor the 69 citizen soldiers of the Pennsylvania National Guard, part of the 56th Stryker Brigade.
The soldiers leave today, bound for Baghdad, after a few months of additional training at stateside bases.
Hayes was introduced Wednesday by his father, Samuel E. Hayes Jr., a Vietnam veteran, former Pennsylvania House Majority Whip and former state Secretary of Agriculture.
He urged the soldiers to be ''persistent in your vigilance'' as they enter what he pointed out is a 360-degree battlefield where the enemy is too often afraid to stand and fight.
Hayes Jr., invoking the words of Thomas Payne, said ''these are the times that try men's souls,'' and he noted that the citizen soldiers have their ''lives put on hold to serve the colors of our nation.''
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan stir political debate, Hayes Jr. said, but he suggested the soldiers ''just leave that alone, and you'll probably be better off than those doing the debating.''
Hayes Jr., who also will see another son, Lee Hayes, go to Iraq in the coming months as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot, said the soldiers of Charlie Company are not ''the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot'' who ''in this crisis, will shrink from the service of his country,'' but they are ''heroes and patriots for all seasons'' who ''will carry the day.''
On the cloudless September afternoon, the community's gratitude and support carried the day for the soldiers about to embark on their latest mission.
''It was great,'' Sgt. Mike Kissell said. ''I was amazed at how many people came out.''
Kissell, a Stryker vehicle commander from Bellwood, recalled being the ''new guy'' in the unit in 1992, looking up to the older soldiers.
Now, after 17 years and a 12-month deployment to Kosovo in 2003, he's fulfilling that role for the younger soldiers.
''You become a family,'' Kissell said.
Sgt. Gunner Richards of Tyrone said pride has kept him active in the National Guard for 21 years.
''Plus, I love doing it,'' he said.
Richards, who also was deployed for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, said although going to battle has ''changed tenfold'' during his time in the military, particularly because of technology, one thing remains constant.
''I'll miss my family the most,'' he said of his impending deployment.
The Tyrone-based National Guard unit's 12-month deployment will be the last from the storied Tyrone armory that has roots back to the Sheridan Calvary Troop that was formed in 1871.
Tyrone, as well as Charlie Company's other armory in Bellefonte, will be decommissioned, and the company will share a new facility in Centre County.
Robert Myers, 76, remembers the last deployment parade March 1, 1941, for the Sheridan Troop, then designated as Troop B, 104th Cavalry Pennsylvania National Guard. He wanted to be there again to ''send the boys off.''
One of Myers' brothers, the late Dick Myers, was a part of the Sheridan Troop and lost a leg in World War II. Another brother, Robert Myers, was a side-gunner who was killed in action when his B-24 was shot down in 1943 over Berlin.
''It was a good turnout,'' Myers said of Wednesday's event.
Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7446.
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drophammer
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09-26-08 12:32 AM
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"the words of Thomas Payne" He also said the "Patriotism is the last refuge of the Scoundrel". Can't think of a better saying to describe George Bush who has sent 4,300 of our men to their deaths for a lie. Answer the question: WHY ARE WE IN IRAQ? Try this one: Who was the last soldier to die in Vietnam? Why were we fighting there again? To fight communism? Our country is owned by them. The own our debt which has just DOUBLED overnight before the 700 billion dollar gift to Bush's pals. Remember in November.
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LisaWrites4U
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09-25-08 1:25 PM
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My thoughts and prayers are with all of you. May God bless our troops for all they do. A great big hug and many thanks to our troops and their families because without you we wouldnt have all the freedom that we have. GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND COME HOME SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!
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RedBaron
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09-25-08 10:03 AM
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Good luck to all of those guys and may God be with them. My great grandfather was in the Sheridan Troop when it deployed for the Spanish American War and I have possession of newspaper clippings for a similiar event then. It is a shame that the Tyrone area is losing that facility and these soldiers who have been dedicated for so long.
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ExSFmedic
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09-25-08 8:49 AM
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I thank each and every one of you who has put his or her life on hold to fight this enemy of freedom. Make no bones about it, the enemy is ruthless and has no scruples. Death is what stops this way of thinking. If you have to send them off, they will answer to the only Just Judge. Know that just serving make every one of you heros. Be safe.
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guttertroll
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09-25-08 8:48 AM
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God Bless you guys and thank God we have patriots like this to serve our great country of America.
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RobFan530
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09-25-08 8:21 AM
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Thank you to each and every one of the men and women who serve this wonderful country. Without people like you the USA would not be what it is today. Thanks again!
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mammamia
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09-25-08 8:14 AM
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God Bless our brave men and women soldiers. Thank you for your service to this great country and a big thank you to your families for the huge sacrifice they also make upon your deployment. God Speed.
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