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thedrifter
03-03-08, 07:38 AM
51-year-old soldier brings unique perspective to duty in Iraq

By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com

MATTOON — Illinois Army National Guard Sgt. Gentry Hawkins was waving at the little boy playing with his toys on a long dining table in the American Legion building Sunday afternoon before a welcome-back celebration started for the soldier.

“Hi, Grandpa!” the boy half yelled before being lifted in the arms of a tall 51-year-old Illinois National Guardsman back from duty in Iraq. Before the afternoon was over, the grandfather in military camouflage and tan combat boots would be hugging and making funny faces with other grandchildren, including one born while he was overseas.

“I was the third oldest in my unit,” said Hawkins, who is in the construction business as part of his civilian duty and served as a mechanic with the 3637th Sustainment Maintenance Company from Springfield. “It was a little harder on the older ones. But we still have to do what the younger ones do. That really helped me stay in shape.”

A veteran of the peacetime army, Hawkins was in high school when he wondered if he would face duty in another war in Vietnam. That war ended before he was old enough for enlistment, but he later served in West Germany during peaceful times.

“When I was in the army I figured I would be done with military duty long before this,” Hawkins said.

On Sunday, as relatives made the final preparations for the welcome-back celebration, Hawkins talked of how rewarding it was to serve in Iraq over the past year. He was stationed in Anbar Province in Iraq as the 3637th provided maintenance and supply support to U.S. Marines.

“Things are going right there. The populace now will wave and smile. They are working with us. They will tell about people making bombs and that allows our intelligence people to surgically remove the bad guys without knocking out buildings or hurting people in the neighborhood. It’s been very quiet there. Our guys are finding demolitions before they explode,” he said.

Hawkins has learned much about Iraqis as he has interacted with some Iraqi police officers or members of the armed forces.

“The Iraqis will ask us about our homes and our land here. They want to know about the terrain and how green it is here. They like to talk about religion. They are very interested in our interpretations of the Old Testament of the Bible,” Hawkins said.

On the left arm of his uniform is a black-on-green silhouette of Abraham Lincoln’s head. It is a natural icon for a unit with ties to the capital city of the state known as the Land of Lincoln. But Hawkins has learned about the legacy of another Abraham regarding Iraq.

“The village where I was stationed is the same one where Abraham in the Bible proposed to Sarah. They know the Bible in Iraq and talk about it a lot,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins offered lessons on living to some of the younger soldiers in his company during the deployment. It was a way to bridge the generation gap, he said.

“My soldiers have respect for me because I’m able to carry the load. We talk about kids. In fact, some of them are the age of my kids. So I tell them what I did when I was raising my family. I am sort of a base of data for them,” he said with pride.

But his base of support was showing its efficiency on Sunday.

“It was just me over there, but it took 30 or more people to support me while I was gone. The family and local support is truly a lifeline. I owe them so much,” he said before heading toward quality time with his family in the Mattoon Legion.

Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.

Ellie