thedrifter
04-28-07, 07:19 AM
Lift provides happy homecoming for Marines
By Chris Vaughn
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH -- It's not every day a man comes home from war in Dirk Nowitzki's seat.
But it happened, all right. Forty-seven Marines, just days out of Fallujah, Iraq, can tell you about it.
The Marines, reservists from the 14th Marine Regiment at Naval Air Station Fort Worth, got home from their seven-month deployment Wednesday in the pampered style of the NBA, courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks' jet, team owner Mark Cuban and businessman Ross Perot Jr.
"It was insane," said Sgt. Derik Patton, a Fort Worth native and a senior at Texas State University, who lounged in a giant reclining seat and watched the 2006 Rose Bowl on television during the flight.
The 2 1/2 -hour trip from California, where the Mavericks jet picked them up, just flew by.
For three years, groups of Marine reservists from Fort Worth have been deploying to Iraq and returning quietly, without fanfare. This time, their families wanted something different, something big and memorable.
What happened at Alliance Airport -- the Mavericks' Boeing 757, Mavericks dancers, Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, the Texas Rangers mascot, a barbecue dinner, the Northwest High School band -- took them by surprise.
"This is amazing," said April Robbins, whose son, Chad, was returning from his second deployment. "I can't believe this."
Perot said his father, a longtime activist for the military and veterans, got wind that the Marines would be leaving Twentynine Palms, Calif., in dribs and drabs on commercial airlines, a process that would take days and make a big homecoming impossible.
So Perot and Cuban put their heads together and offered the jet and Alliance Airport.
(The Marines had to get approval from Defense Department lawyers to accept the gift.)
"This is the least we can do for these great Marines," Perot said.
The Marines have been gone since June, and their families were understandably anxious as they waited for the plane.
"When you're in the middle of it, it seems to go really slow," said Margarita Guerrero, whose husband, Lance Cpl. Alvaro Guerrero, was on the plane. "But now that it's over, it did go by pretty fast."
Maj. Scot Jaworski, the regiment's inspector-instructor, said he is amazed at the level of support for the military in North Texas.
"They would have been perfectly happy coming home on a donkey cart," Jaworski said of the Marines. "But they left as a unit and they wanted to come back as a unit. Mr. Perot's and Mr. Cuban's gesture is deeply appreciated."
Chris Vaughn, 817-390-7547 cvaughn@star-telegram.com
Ellie
By Chris Vaughn
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH -- It's not every day a man comes home from war in Dirk Nowitzki's seat.
But it happened, all right. Forty-seven Marines, just days out of Fallujah, Iraq, can tell you about it.
The Marines, reservists from the 14th Marine Regiment at Naval Air Station Fort Worth, got home from their seven-month deployment Wednesday in the pampered style of the NBA, courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks' jet, team owner Mark Cuban and businessman Ross Perot Jr.
"It was insane," said Sgt. Derik Patton, a Fort Worth native and a senior at Texas State University, who lounged in a giant reclining seat and watched the 2006 Rose Bowl on television during the flight.
The 2 1/2 -hour trip from California, where the Mavericks jet picked them up, just flew by.
For three years, groups of Marine reservists from Fort Worth have been deploying to Iraq and returning quietly, without fanfare. This time, their families wanted something different, something big and memorable.
What happened at Alliance Airport -- the Mavericks' Boeing 757, Mavericks dancers, Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, the Texas Rangers mascot, a barbecue dinner, the Northwest High School band -- took them by surprise.
"This is amazing," said April Robbins, whose son, Chad, was returning from his second deployment. "I can't believe this."
Perot said his father, a longtime activist for the military and veterans, got wind that the Marines would be leaving Twentynine Palms, Calif., in dribs and drabs on commercial airlines, a process that would take days and make a big homecoming impossible.
So Perot and Cuban put their heads together and offered the jet and Alliance Airport.
(The Marines had to get approval from Defense Department lawyers to accept the gift.)
"This is the least we can do for these great Marines," Perot said.
The Marines have been gone since June, and their families were understandably anxious as they waited for the plane.
"When you're in the middle of it, it seems to go really slow," said Margarita Guerrero, whose husband, Lance Cpl. Alvaro Guerrero, was on the plane. "But now that it's over, it did go by pretty fast."
Maj. Scot Jaworski, the regiment's inspector-instructor, said he is amazed at the level of support for the military in North Texas.
"They would have been perfectly happy coming home on a donkey cart," Jaworski said of the Marines. "But they left as a unit and they wanted to come back as a unit. Mr. Perot's and Mr. Cuban's gesture is deeply appreciated."
Chris Vaughn, 817-390-7547 cvaughn@star-telegram.com
Ellie