thedrifter
05-07-07, 09:52 AM
CELEBRATING HEROES
BY COULTER JONES
STAFF WRITER
05/07/2007
WYOMING — Sirens blaring a half-mile away pulled the crowd to its feet, closer to Wyoming Avenue outside the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center.
Ambulances and fire trucks, then veterans on motorcycles drove past the crowd. Behind them followed the seven marines to be honored. The Marines in the back of a military truck waved to the crowd after passing beneath a 10-foot by 15-foot flag held by two ladder trucks above Route 11, yellow ribbons and American flags decorated the side of the road.
Dominick Snipes, 16 months, watched, smiling and waving an American flag. His shirt read, “I Love My Daddy He’s My Hero.”
Snipes’ father, Lance Cpl. Dennis Veater, died in March from wounds suffered on duty in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, according to the Department of Defense. Veater was the first Marine from the training center to die in combat.
Sunday’s parade marked a delayed “Welcome Home” tribute to the members of the Marine Forces Reserve’s Wing Support Squadron 472, Wing Support Group 47, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing at Wyoming. The squad returned from Iraq in March, but a snowstorm delayed festivities. Amid the smiles and hugs, the photos and congratulations, the memory of Veater — the “energy of the unit,” the jokester, the friend — was everywhere.
Members of the squad wore black KIA wristbands in honor of Veater. Dominick Snipes and his mother, Angalene Snipes, each had shirts honoring Veater. Snipes was to marry Veater when he returned from Iraq. Buttons of the fallen Marine adorned the clothing of countless people in the crowd.
“The support has been a little overwhelming at times,” she said.
Ann Marie Roberts a local volunteer and friend of the Marines, organized the parade and a dinner for families that followed at the Anthracite Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Kingston.
“Our Marines need to know we’re still behind them,” Roberts said. “That they have our support.”
The parents of Lance Cpl. Matthew Yingst and Lance Cpl. John Zaginaylo chatted at the dinner, sharing stories, worries. They didn’t want their sons to go to Iraq at first, didn’t want to hear some of the stories over there. Over time, the mothers and fathers of the two marines said, they learned to accept their sons’ decision, even respect it.
“There’s a real bond with these guys,” said Yingst’s mother, Joette Yingst. “You could just tell by watching them together. They’re there for each other.”
cjones@citizensvoice.com
Ellie
BY COULTER JONES
STAFF WRITER
05/07/2007
WYOMING — Sirens blaring a half-mile away pulled the crowd to its feet, closer to Wyoming Avenue outside the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center.
Ambulances and fire trucks, then veterans on motorcycles drove past the crowd. Behind them followed the seven marines to be honored. The Marines in the back of a military truck waved to the crowd after passing beneath a 10-foot by 15-foot flag held by two ladder trucks above Route 11, yellow ribbons and American flags decorated the side of the road.
Dominick Snipes, 16 months, watched, smiling and waving an American flag. His shirt read, “I Love My Daddy He’s My Hero.”
Snipes’ father, Lance Cpl. Dennis Veater, died in March from wounds suffered on duty in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, according to the Department of Defense. Veater was the first Marine from the training center to die in combat.
Sunday’s parade marked a delayed “Welcome Home” tribute to the members of the Marine Forces Reserve’s Wing Support Squadron 472, Wing Support Group 47, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing at Wyoming. The squad returned from Iraq in March, but a snowstorm delayed festivities. Amid the smiles and hugs, the photos and congratulations, the memory of Veater — the “energy of the unit,” the jokester, the friend — was everywhere.
Members of the squad wore black KIA wristbands in honor of Veater. Dominick Snipes and his mother, Angalene Snipes, each had shirts honoring Veater. Snipes was to marry Veater when he returned from Iraq. Buttons of the fallen Marine adorned the clothing of countless people in the crowd.
“The support has been a little overwhelming at times,” she said.
Ann Marie Roberts a local volunteer and friend of the Marines, organized the parade and a dinner for families that followed at the Anthracite Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Kingston.
“Our Marines need to know we’re still behind them,” Roberts said. “That they have our support.”
The parents of Lance Cpl. Matthew Yingst and Lance Cpl. John Zaginaylo chatted at the dinner, sharing stories, worries. They didn’t want their sons to go to Iraq at first, didn’t want to hear some of the stories over there. Over time, the mothers and fathers of the two marines said, they learned to accept their sons’ decision, even respect it.
“There’s a real bond with these guys,” said Yingst’s mother, Joette Yingst. “You could just tell by watching them together. They’re there for each other.”
cjones@citizensvoice.com
Ellie