"Thank
You & Welcome Home 184th"
(
Sacramento Airport ~ January 16, 2006) Hugs
& Kisses After Seeing War Up-Close Recent
Stories By Blair Anthony Robertson and Elizabeth Hume Bee
Staff Writers Last Updated 5:52 am PST Tuesday, January 17, 2006 Story
appeared on Page A1 of The Bee Coming
home Hugs, kisses after seeing war up close By Blair Anthony
Robertson and Elizabeth Hume -- Bee Staff Writers Last Updated 5:52 am PST
Tuesday, January 17, 2006 Story appeared on Page A1 of The Bee 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. "They're
on the ground," announced one woman, craning for a view. 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. "They
assumed a frontline role, the likes of which we really haven't seen since
the Korean War," said National Guard Maj. Jon Siepmann. On Monday,
three flights touched down at Sacramento International Airport, and others
from the regiment arrived at Los Alamitos in Southern California, where they
were greeted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other elected officials. In
all, more than 600 soldiers returned to California.
In its 18 months
in Iraq, the 184th lost 17 soldiers and sustained more than 100 casualties,
Siepmann said. Of those killed, 10 were from California and the other seven
were soldiers attached to the battalion. Those who died were mostly victims
of improvised explosive devices, also called IEDs, Siepmann said.
The 184th was mobilized Aug. 16, 2004, to relieve elements of the U.S. Army's
1st Cavalry Division in southeastern Baghdad. The battalion conducted more
than 6,800 combat missions and captured hundreds of insurgents, according
to the California National Guard.
Given the soldiers' harrowing experiences,
their return marked a joyful occasion Monday. Helium balloons danced in the
midday breeze, printed with sayings like "I love you" and "welcome
home."
During the buildup and the lengthy wait outdoors, friends
and loved ones claimed a spot near the gate, laughing, taking pictures and
unfurling placards and banners.
One of those waiting was too young
to understand the commotion, too little to understand why the desert camouflage
shorts he wore looked so cute and so poignant.
"I bought
these shorts soon after he was born, just for this day," said Serena
Camarena, mother of 8-month-old Elias.
The baby's father, Spc. Kino
Camarena, 26, last saw Elias while on leave shortly after his son was born,
when the infant weighed just over 7 pounds. Now he is an armful at 18 pounds.
Nearby, in a crowd of about 500 people, Nick Mendoza held a sign for his
son, 30-year-old Lt. Christopher Mendoza. The guardsman's two children -
Calei, 7, and Christopher Jr., 5 - milled about until the cheering erupted.
"I'm relieved. It's fantastic," said Nick Mendoza. "There are times
I'll be working and I'll break up. When I hear about some of the other troops,
it gets to me."
"I usually don't want to watch the news -
it scares me," added his wife, Ida Mendoza.
Some
of the soldiers injured in Iraq who had already returned to the United States
made sure they welcomed home those they had left behind.
.jpg)
(Javi holding
daughter welcoming home best friend)
Javier, a Modesto resident, stood on
a concrete bench at the airport. Castillo returned to California in May after
a roof fell on top of him during a mission in Iraq. He was in Sacramento
on Monday to welcome home his best friend, Sgt. Richard Lee Delgaudio
of Galt.
"Lee took my place as the actual
sharpshooter," Castillo said. Across the
crowd of soldiers and family members, Castillo spotted Delgaudio, who arrived
on the 11 a.m. flight."What's up, brother?"
Castillo shouted. The 25-year-old Galt High
School graduate hugged his mother, Cindy Rupert, and his 16-year-old sister,
Kara Delgaudio. Then he turned to his friends, who gave him a candy lei. 
(Lee Delgaudio & Mother) Picture taken by Sacramento
Bee
"It's crazy. It feels surreal. I didn't
expect all this," said Delgaudio, who planned to go home to Galt to relax. 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."
Two hours later in downtown Sacramento, about 50 anti-war marchers called
for the permanent return of the California National Guard from Iraq, hoping
to get the Legislature to vote on a nonbinding resolution.
But at the
airport, there were no signs of protests or controversy, and the guardsmen
were greeted like heroes when the 2 p.m. flight finally let out its passengers
and the soldiers - all men, dressed in their desert camouflage uniforms -
hustled their way into the throng. The cheering was steady and frantic, the
kind usually reserved for rock stars.
Three aging men in Veterans of
Foreign Wars jackets stood side by side, waiting to shake one hand after the
other.
And soon, Cpl. Brad Latham got the best welcome home he could
imagine. There, toward the back of the crowd was his wife, Kim, and 3-year-old
son, Cole, who had been so impossibly small the last time he saw the boy.
"We've been waiting for this for 18 months," said a smiling Latham,
a heavy equipment operator in civilian life.
Cole was wearing
desert fatigues just like little Elias'. And as the crowd dispersed and all
the balloons and banners were whisked away, and people paid for their parking
and drove toward their homes or favorite restaurants, those two boys were
somewhere out there, getting to know their fathers.
ABOUT THE WRITER:
" The Bee's Blair Anthony Robertson can be reached at (916) 321-1099 or brobertson@sacbee.com." |