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thedrifter
12-25-08, 06:40 AM
A soldier’s happy holiday homecoming

By Cliff Newell

The West Linn Tidings, Dec 25, 2008

Norman Rockwell should have been there to paint the moment when Marine Corporal Taylor Bergstrom stepped off the jet and into the arms of his waiting family at Portland PDX Airport.

It was so much more than he expected.

“I thought it would just be mom and dad,” Bergstrom said. “I was star struck.”

Instead it was mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, siblings, a whole lot of other friends and relatives, and even his girlfriend.

It was a very loud and colorful group, too, equipped with signs and cowbells.

Back home in West Linn there was a party with lots of food and a lot more people. All of it thanks to two months of planning by Bergstrom’s mother Lisa Griffith.

“I yelled his last name,” Griffith said with a laugh. “I thought he might turn around and go the other way.”

No way. Bergstrom was a happy warrior, and even happier was a mother who was seeing her 21-year-old son for the first time in two years, a span that included eight months of service in Iraq.

“He looked good,” Griffith said. “He’s pretty buff. I am very blessed that Taylor has come home safe.”

Since his return home to West Linn, Bergstrom has been pretty much the man of the hour, visiting with just about every relative possible on the West Coast. One of his stops was West Linn High School, where he dropped in on some old teachers. He even got to see his grandmother and grandfather in Idaho for an emotional reunion.

“There were quite a few tears,” Bergstrom said. “I hadn’t seen them in a long time.”

But a lot of visitors were not relatives or friends. They were simply folks who saw the giant “welcome home” sign Griffith had placed outside their home.

“Strangers would actually stop in,” Griffith said. “They would come in and say, ‘Thank you.’ A lot of people would just drive by and honk and wave. It was great!”

Home certainly looked good to Bergstrom. He was especially happy to see the snow after enduring temperatures of up to 130 degrees in Iraq, and he was quite impressed with how West Linn had changed in the past two years.

“A lot has changed here,” Bergstrom said. “There are so many new stores and business places in West Linn. I thought, ‘Wow, it’s so new and nice. It’s a beautiful city.’ “

“It’s been wonderful,” Griffith said. “I find myself saying, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s here!’ When he falls asleep on the couch, I go look at him. I put a blanket over him if he needs one.”

Two years ago Bergstrom was just a regular high school senior playing football at West Linn High and thinking about his future. It turned out to be the Marines.

“It was just a feeling I had,” Bergstrom said. “It wasn’t something I felt I owed. It was something I wanted to do. I wanted to help out and do something for what we’re doing over there.”

“I was taken aback at first, but I was very supportive,” Griffith said. “Especially after he went through everything on his enlistment, I was very, very excited. Absolutely, I was worried, but I was very, very proud.”

Following service in Japan, Bergstrom was sent to Iraq with the 3rd Reconnaissance, a support battalion that was asked to do all kinds of duties. Mostly, Bergstrom served on convoys as a gunner or a driver.

“There was nothing too crazy or deeply inspiring,” Bergstrom said. “But it was something we needed to be doing. I enjoyed it very much. Morale was really, really good. Me and my friends were always able to call our families. If we weren’t working, there was physical training at the gym. Everyone worked well together. We got a lot of things done.”

On the home front in West Linn, mom Lisa kept Taylor well supplied with care packages, including one full of stuffed animals, games and toys for him to give to the Iraqi children. She also stayed well connected through the Internet and My Space.

“I had a lot of support, especially locally here,” Bergstrom said.

Now, Bergstrom is again thinking about his future — possibly re-enlisting, or college, or becoming a police officer. He returns to duty on Jan. 4 at Camp Schwab in Okinawa and then will serve stateside at Camp Pendleton in California.

His departure will be a much smaller affair. Just Griffith and her husband Gregg. But the emotion will be just as strong.

“It will be hard to see Taylor go,” Griffith said. “But this has been a wonderful couple of weeks. I could not have asked for more for Christmas.”

Ellie