Mayor Robert Katt takes the podium to deliver a rousing patriotic talk to Army Reservists, families and friends at Handy Middle School. Mayor, Crowd Gives Local Soldiers a Sendoff to Iraq at Handy Gathering
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The scene is repeated often across America.
Saturday it was Bay City's turn.
Tearful relatives, sad-eyed kids, straight-faced officers and local officials.
A long line of camoflage-clad grim-visaged troops marching in with military precision.
The Star Spangled Banner blaring from the public address system, ending with the familiar "...long may it wave o'er the land of the free and home of the brave."
And brave words, amida sea of fearful, hopeful faces.
A farewell to troops being deployed to Iraq was played out in the gym at Handy Middle School on Saturday afternoon.
About 100 members of the 980th Quartermaster Company, one of several Army Reserve units stationed at the James J. O'Rourke Army Reserve Center, 1501 N. Henry Street, were reporting for duty.
Handy Principal Carla VanTol had worked hard with the kids to decorate the gym and help buoy the spirits of the troopers. She stood at attention, resplendent in Handy's colors, red and white, honoring the assemblage. Staff Sergeant Horton from the Army Reserve thanked everybody in Bay City, including Handy maintenance man Greg Glowicki, for their support.
"ThankYou For Serving America. We'll Miss You," read one sign drawn by the kids, the wording surrounding a hand-drawn bright red, white and blue American flag.
Showing the proper bravado, another sign read: "America Will Never Give Up." A third was a yellow ribbon with "Good Luck in Iraq" scrawled on it.
Bay City Mayor Robert Katt saluted the troops on behalf of the City Commission and city staff and commended them "for a determined effort serving the United States of America in joining the war on terrorism." He urged the families to be proud of the soldiers "defending this great country and the world" and presented a city flag to Capt. Charles N. Moulton, company commander.
It is probably the first time a Bay City unit has been sent anywhere into a combat zone, perhaps since the National Guard's 124th Ambulance Company left the Armory on Washington Avenue enroute to France in World War I. That was about 90 years ago.
The words "political climate" and"negative reports in the media" were only briefly mentioned by military spokesmen. The tension in the air was dramatically cleared when the 100 troopers, male and female, jumped enthusiastically to their feet and shouted in unison something that sounded like, "ha-yah!"
Reserve commanders emphasized the intense training the unit has received, including a three-month mobilization at Ft. McCoy, Wisconsin, in 2003.
"You will feel the pain," Col. Harold R. Ellens, commander, ArmySupply Group, honestly told the crowd of several hundred well-wishers, adding: "But you must realize their mission is bigger than anyone here. The world will be a better place because of their efforts."
"Because of you we all wear the uniform," Col. Ellens reminded the crowd, warning them: "In the next 12 months you will experience a change in your lives. Without the soldier in your lives, you will experience some hardship. Thank you."
The unit will undergo "theatre-specific" training, said Col. Ellens. He noted that family members "won't necessarily know where the soldiers are. But without your support they won't be able to focus on their mission."
Observers noted privately the dangers the soldiers will face,pointing out that it was a Quartermaster company stationed in Iraq that last week refused to move out in vehicles they considered unsafe. A controversy has arisen and facts of the incident are still being sorted out.
Local families will beable to communicate with the soldiers by letter and e-mail, Col. Ellens said.
Capt. Moulton exclaimed: "These soldiers are ready for anything, anytime, any place. Let's get it done!"
The shout came up off the shiny wood floor of the Handy gym, rising to a deep-throated war cry: "Get It Done! Ha-yah!!!" And the local troops were off to Iraq.
Outside, in the parking lot jammed with cars, a little boy stood alone for a moment as his mother, carrying a little girl, rushed toward the gym, late for the ceremony but with the same hopeful, tearful look on her face as the rest of the day's well-wishers.
There was no time for anything but prayers, and hopes for lots of luck.###
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