Soldiers welcomed home in early morning ceremony on Saturday.
Fort Campbell, KY – In a flight that arrived at 5:10am on Saturday February 5th 2011. 225 Soldiers from two different 101st Division units returned home from Afghanistan. The flight was comprised of 113 members of the 3rd Brigade combat Team (Rakkasans), and 112 members of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade (Wings of Destiny). This flight saw the return of the 3rd Brigade Colors, along with much of the brigade leadership, including Col. Viet Luong, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Patton.
Family and friends of the returning soldiers had gathered together to give their loved ones a proper welcome home.
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Among them was Marla Lundborg who was clearly expecting. She is married to Specialist Eric Lundborg. Eric was able to return home last June on R&R. Marla was experiencing contractions as she waited for her husbands unit return. When the announcement came to proceed outside Marla remained inside. Due to technical issues the flight which was originally scheduled to arrive at 4:45am, was delayed for 20 minutes. This must have seemed like an eternity for Marla.
Once the Division Staff was informed of Mrs. Lundborgs condition they went out of their way to assist her. Maj. Gen. Frank Wiercinski’s wife Jeannie, an OB/GYN nurse sat with her monitoring her condition. Once the airplane arrived Specialist Lundborg rushed into the hanger to check on his wife and take her to the hospital. After the doctors checked Marla out at the hospital, it turned out that it was not yet time for the new baby to come, so Marla was sent home with instructions for bed rest. However when their new child is finally born, I am sure that Eric will consider it one heck of a welcome home present!
Communication is important to the soldiers and many of the families credited social networking, instant messaging, and skype for keeping them in touch. “The internet over there is pretty bad, but I would rather have bad internet than no internet.” said Mrs Villareal. The Family Readiness Groups also received a lot of credit from the family members.
The rest of the soldiers had another duty to perform before they could be truly reunited with their famililes. They had to drop off their gear so that it could be secured while they were visiting with their families. Then it was time for the soldiers to march into the hanger before the cheering crowd. After a short ceremony it was time for some quality family time. This was the first time many of these soldiers had seen their loved ones since early 2010.
After a quick invocation by 101st Airborne Division Chaplin Dewey Smith, Maj. Gen. Frank Wiercinski gave a few remarks. “I will try to keep this thing short, we have a Wings of Desinty spouse who’s about to have a baby” He continued, “I have to tell you, that I’m kinda emotional. For me to see those colors home. For an entire year you stood on that wall for us.Now it’s our time to help you! Let us do that!” Then the band began to play the Army Song and the 101st Airborne Division Song. Afterwards, the soldiers were given 15 minutes to be with their families.
If you are interested in attending a Welcome Home Ceremony, flights are scheduled for the 8th and 9th of February. Plan to arrive at least 2 hours early. Enter at Gate 7, and follow the signs. Hope to see you there! The rest of the 17,000 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) are expected home by the end of June.
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