thedrifter
03-25-07, 07:53 AM
Area Marines' return from Iraq delayed
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The Grand Rapids Press
The homecoming of 13 Michigan Marine reservists returning from Iraq was delayed Saturday evening after mechanical difficulties canceled their flight from Chicago to Grand Rapids.
The Marines were scheduled to arrive by bus from Chicago late Saturday night at the Reserve Training Center in Battle Creek, where 200 families members waited for them. The flight cancellation delayed their arrival by about three hours.
Initially, the group was going to arrive at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids and take a bus to Battle Creek.
They have been deployed since June.
One of the Marines is a Wyoming resident. Another is from Ionia and another from South Haven. Two are from Lansing and the remaining eight are from the Battle Creek area, said Staff Sgt. McArthur Davidson, with the peacetime/wartime support team.
They will remain on active duty for a short period before resuming their civilian jobs, he said.
Whether they will be deployed again is uncertain.
"There is a good chance, because everybody is rotating around. But it shouldn't be anytime soon," said Davidson, who coordinated the homecoming and provided support to the Marines' families during their deployment.
"For a lot of these guys, this is the second or third deployment."
The returning Marines are from Engineer Support Company and Bridge Company Alpha. They are part of Engineer Company B from South Bend, Ind.
Ellie
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The Grand Rapids Press
The homecoming of 13 Michigan Marine reservists returning from Iraq was delayed Saturday evening after mechanical difficulties canceled their flight from Chicago to Grand Rapids.
The Marines were scheduled to arrive by bus from Chicago late Saturday night at the Reserve Training Center in Battle Creek, where 200 families members waited for them. The flight cancellation delayed their arrival by about three hours.
Initially, the group was going to arrive at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids and take a bus to Battle Creek.
They have been deployed since June.
One of the Marines is a Wyoming resident. Another is from Ionia and another from South Haven. Two are from Lansing and the remaining eight are from the Battle Creek area, said Staff Sgt. McArthur Davidson, with the peacetime/wartime support team.
They will remain on active duty for a short period before resuming their civilian jobs, he said.
Whether they will be deployed again is uncertain.
"There is a good chance, because everybody is rotating around. But it shouldn't be anytime soon," said Davidson, who coordinated the homecoming and provided support to the Marines' families during their deployment.
"For a lot of these guys, this is the second or third deployment."
The returning Marines are from Engineer Support Company and Bridge Company Alpha. They are part of Engineer Company B from South Bend, Ind.
Ellie