thedrifter
05-24-07, 07:43 AM
Marines Deploy to Iraq: Families Say Farewell
Last Update: May 24, 2007 6:36 AM
Posted By: Nicondra Norwood
Marines headed for Iraq are spending the last evening before their deployment with friends and family. In the afternoon on Wednesday May 23, 2007 they gathered with love ones at the Marine Reserve Center on Jackson Avenue in Northeast Memphis.
For some this is the second or even third time they are meeting to ship out to the war zone. Smiling faces, cold sodas and lots of food are all the ingredients for a family day of fun. Major Ben Hull of the United States Marine Corps said, “We wanted to bring the families in to have some time to relax, join together, fellowship and enjoy a meal on their last day home.” Today’s fun will all too quickly be replaced with boot camp’s drills and training. Then in a few months with the battle fields of Iraq. Hull said, “We have volunteers that are going to Iraq for the second or third time because they want to serve along side their fellow Marines and see the mission through.”
Sergeant Travis McNatt is headed for his second tour, “With the guys I’ve been training with for three years. You just can’t leave them behind and say it’s on the other guys.” Mcnatt’s mother Candy Donald is surprised her son is going back, “We didn’t think we were going to have to be doing this a second time, but he’s proud of what he does and he believes in what he does and so we stand behind him one hundred per cent. She said this time is a lot different than the first, “Mamma holds it together pretty well, but it’s going to be a long deployment and this time he’s leaving a wife.”
Mcnatt says his family’s support is what gets him through his time overseas, “There’s times when you get over there and you get in a rut. It seems like time stands still. You’re not making any progress. Just the contact from home makes you feel like you got the little extra connection. Extra little bit of motivation to carry you through.”
The Marine Corps donated extra food from today’s lunch to two nearby shelters. The Marines will gather at the Marine Reserve Center on the morning of Thursday May 24, 2007. From there they will go for several weeks of training to North Carolina. Then they will spend time training in the California desert before heading to Iraq in early fall.
Ellie
Last Update: May 24, 2007 6:36 AM
Posted By: Nicondra Norwood
Marines headed for Iraq are spending the last evening before their deployment with friends and family. In the afternoon on Wednesday May 23, 2007 they gathered with love ones at the Marine Reserve Center on Jackson Avenue in Northeast Memphis.
For some this is the second or even third time they are meeting to ship out to the war zone. Smiling faces, cold sodas and lots of food are all the ingredients for a family day of fun. Major Ben Hull of the United States Marine Corps said, “We wanted to bring the families in to have some time to relax, join together, fellowship and enjoy a meal on their last day home.” Today’s fun will all too quickly be replaced with boot camp’s drills and training. Then in a few months with the battle fields of Iraq. Hull said, “We have volunteers that are going to Iraq for the second or third time because they want to serve along side their fellow Marines and see the mission through.”
Sergeant Travis McNatt is headed for his second tour, “With the guys I’ve been training with for three years. You just can’t leave them behind and say it’s on the other guys.” Mcnatt’s mother Candy Donald is surprised her son is going back, “We didn’t think we were going to have to be doing this a second time, but he’s proud of what he does and he believes in what he does and so we stand behind him one hundred per cent. She said this time is a lot different than the first, “Mamma holds it together pretty well, but it’s going to be a long deployment and this time he’s leaving a wife.”
Mcnatt says his family’s support is what gets him through his time overseas, “There’s times when you get over there and you get in a rut. It seems like time stands still. You’re not making any progress. Just the contact from home makes you feel like you got the little extra connection. Extra little bit of motivation to carry you through.”
The Marine Corps donated extra food from today’s lunch to two nearby shelters. The Marines will gather at the Marine Reserve Center on the morning of Thursday May 24, 2007. From there they will go for several weeks of training to North Carolina. Then they will spend time training in the California desert before heading to Iraq in early fall.
Ellie