thedrifter
03-24-07, 06:48 AM
Article published Mar 24, 2007
Local families await return of Marines
'The anticipation has been killing us,' says mother.
JOSHUA STOWE
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND -- Beth Briskey has been waiting for this day ever since her son left for Iraq with Engineer Company B.
Today is the day that 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Derik Briskey and his fellow Marines in the locally-based reserve unit return to South Bend, to friends and family members who can't wait to see them.
"It's wonderful. The anticipation has been killing us," said Briskey, who lives in LaPorte. "It's been exciting!"
Engineer Company B is returning from its second deployment to Iraq. On its first mission, in 2003, the unit supported a combat engineer battalion.This past time, though, the mission has focused on clearing routes for coalition forces -- a more dangerous job that has included finding and blowing up mines.
The latest mission has carried a greater cost. On Oct. 1, 23-year-old Cpl. Aaron Seal of Elkhart was killed by sniper fire in Baghdad.
Chris Zupsich of South Bend said Seal's death affected her son, 10-year-old Justin, a great deal. Justin has worried for the safety of his dad, Master Sgt. David Zupsich.
"My daughter did fairly well," Zupsich said. "My son is the one who had a difficult time."
But when Justin heard that his dad was coming home, Zupsich said, "his comment was, 'I'm getting the best present ever!' "Zupsich said she handled her husband's absence thanks to e-mail, which the couple used frequently to communicate.
"He was really good with e-mail. He would normally send one line a day -- 'Hey, honey, I'm doing good.' When the kids were missing him or whatever, you could shoot him a line and he would call."
Briskey said that when she talked to her son earlier this week, "He said everybody is just bouncing off the walls, they can't wait to get home. Just to hear his voice made you feel a little bit of relief."
Briskey will join other Engineer Company B families this morning to decorate the Armed Forces Reserve Center for the Marines' homecoming.
That celebration will be the high point of the weekend, she said. Afterward, her son has asked that she avoid a big to-do.
"He said he wants pizza and quiet time," she said. "So, I just think he's going to take a siesta for a little while."
Staff writer Joshua Stowe:
jstowe@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6359
Company B welcome
The public is invited to welcome Engineer Company B back to South Bend today by gathering along the company's motorcade route.
The motorcade is expected to begin about 5 p.m. at the corner of Bendix Drive and Lincoln Way West.
It will travel on Lincoln Way West to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, then continue south past Sample Street.
South of Sample, the motorcade will bear left off Chapin Street onto Kemble Avenue, continuing south on Kemble to Donald Street and finally to the Armed Forces Reserve Center. Family members will be waiting for the Marines at the reserve center for a private welcome.
On WSBT-TV
WSBT will run a special newscast on SBT2 sometime between 5:45 and 6:45 p.m. today to show the reuniting of South Bend Marine Company B with their families as it happens.
Because WSBT is the home of the NCAA Basketball Final Four, the regular 6 p.m. news is pre-empted today.
SBT2 can be found on Comcast Cable 16, Dish Network 30, Digital 22.2.
Ellie
Local families await return of Marines
'The anticipation has been killing us,' says mother.
JOSHUA STOWE
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND -- Beth Briskey has been waiting for this day ever since her son left for Iraq with Engineer Company B.
Today is the day that 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Derik Briskey and his fellow Marines in the locally-based reserve unit return to South Bend, to friends and family members who can't wait to see them.
"It's wonderful. The anticipation has been killing us," said Briskey, who lives in LaPorte. "It's been exciting!"
Engineer Company B is returning from its second deployment to Iraq. On its first mission, in 2003, the unit supported a combat engineer battalion.This past time, though, the mission has focused on clearing routes for coalition forces -- a more dangerous job that has included finding and blowing up mines.
The latest mission has carried a greater cost. On Oct. 1, 23-year-old Cpl. Aaron Seal of Elkhart was killed by sniper fire in Baghdad.
Chris Zupsich of South Bend said Seal's death affected her son, 10-year-old Justin, a great deal. Justin has worried for the safety of his dad, Master Sgt. David Zupsich.
"My daughter did fairly well," Zupsich said. "My son is the one who had a difficult time."
But when Justin heard that his dad was coming home, Zupsich said, "his comment was, 'I'm getting the best present ever!' "Zupsich said she handled her husband's absence thanks to e-mail, which the couple used frequently to communicate.
"He was really good with e-mail. He would normally send one line a day -- 'Hey, honey, I'm doing good.' When the kids were missing him or whatever, you could shoot him a line and he would call."
Briskey said that when she talked to her son earlier this week, "He said everybody is just bouncing off the walls, they can't wait to get home. Just to hear his voice made you feel a little bit of relief."
Briskey will join other Engineer Company B families this morning to decorate the Armed Forces Reserve Center for the Marines' homecoming.
That celebration will be the high point of the weekend, she said. Afterward, her son has asked that she avoid a big to-do.
"He said he wants pizza and quiet time," she said. "So, I just think he's going to take a siesta for a little while."
Staff writer Joshua Stowe:
jstowe@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6359
Company B welcome
The public is invited to welcome Engineer Company B back to South Bend today by gathering along the company's motorcade route.
The motorcade is expected to begin about 5 p.m. at the corner of Bendix Drive and Lincoln Way West.
It will travel on Lincoln Way West to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, then continue south past Sample Street.
South of Sample, the motorcade will bear left off Chapin Street onto Kemble Avenue, continuing south on Kemble to Donald Street and finally to the Armed Forces Reserve Center. Family members will be waiting for the Marines at the reserve center for a private welcome.
On WSBT-TV
WSBT will run a special newscast on SBT2 sometime between 5:45 and 6:45 p.m. today to show the reuniting of South Bend Marine Company B with their families as it happens.
Because WSBT is the home of the NCAA Basketball Final Four, the regular 6 p.m. news is pre-empted today.
SBT2 can be found on Comcast Cable 16, Dish Network 30, Digital 22.2.
Ellie