thedrifter
03-13-09, 08:01 AM
Marines return to Lubbock from Iraq
By Adam D. Young | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Story last updated at 3/12/2009 - 11:47 pm
Marine Lance Cpl. Pedro Trevino III's mother, Lisa Trevino, was excited to have her son back safely from Iraq.
She said her son called her every eight to 12 days while he was stationed in Iraq since August 2008.
"If we didn't hear from him after the ninth day, we were like, 'hey, it's time to call,' " she said.
But Lisa Trevino said she was surprised Monday to see a text message from her son's cell phone, which he never used in Iraq.
"Immediately, I knew he was in the United States," she said.
Trevino and Lance Cpl. Johnny Haynes flew into Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport on Thursday afternoon where they were greeted by friends, family and fellow Marines in the Lubbock Marine drill hall at the National Guard Armory.
They are among 42 Marines scheduled to fly back to Lubbock and the South Plains between Thursday and Tuesday after a seven-month tour in Iraq. They're part of Direct Support Motor Transport Company B, a Reserve unit that drills in Lubbock.
Haynes' mother, Beatrice Haynes, said her son joined the Marines in 2007 while he was a senior at Levelland High School, and spent his 18th birthday in boot camp. She said his 19th birthday came when he was in Iraq.
"Those will be two birthdays he won't forget," she said.
His mother said she sent him a musical birthday card and kept in touch with him regularly through e-mail.
After his arrival back to Texas, she said, she and her family were taking him to his favorite restaurant, On the Border.
Johnny Haynes said his first dinner back with family and friends would be a welcomed improvement from the Marine Corps' attempt at Tex-Mex.
"They made it," he said, "but it's just not the same."
For now, Haynes said, his plans are to wait to be accepted at either Texas Tech or the University of Texas at Austin for college this fall.
Lisa Trevino said her son, a 2005 graduate of Frenship High School, joined the Marine Reserves in 2007 and his family supports his decision because "he loves it."
"The big truck, the driving, the guns, all that - that's his thing," she said.
But her son put his reasons for joining the Marines in simpler terms.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Trevino said, explaining that his decision to join the Marines came after a recruiter called him during his lunch break while working at his family's company, Pete Trevino Masonry.
As Marines return to civilian life, Capt. Matthew Beuchart said, the Marine Corps is concerned for their safety at home, as the most dangerous time is within 72 to 96 hours of their return home when they may drink and party with friends.
The newly returned Marines will go through a set of classes and be briefed, he said, to "climatize" them for driving on American roads and adjusting to family life.
"If they spend eight months living in Iraq, we don't want to lose them to anything stupid as soon as they get back," he said.
To comment on this story:
adam.young@lubbockonline.com l 766-8725
walt.nett@lubbockonline.com l 766-8706
OUR MILITARY/Loved ones welcome home first of 42
Marines from city Reserve unit
Ellie
By Adam D. Young | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Story last updated at 3/12/2009 - 11:47 pm
Marine Lance Cpl. Pedro Trevino III's mother, Lisa Trevino, was excited to have her son back safely from Iraq.
She said her son called her every eight to 12 days while he was stationed in Iraq since August 2008.
"If we didn't hear from him after the ninth day, we were like, 'hey, it's time to call,' " she said.
But Lisa Trevino said she was surprised Monday to see a text message from her son's cell phone, which he never used in Iraq.
"Immediately, I knew he was in the United States," she said.
Trevino and Lance Cpl. Johnny Haynes flew into Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport on Thursday afternoon where they were greeted by friends, family and fellow Marines in the Lubbock Marine drill hall at the National Guard Armory.
They are among 42 Marines scheduled to fly back to Lubbock and the South Plains between Thursday and Tuesday after a seven-month tour in Iraq. They're part of Direct Support Motor Transport Company B, a Reserve unit that drills in Lubbock.
Haynes' mother, Beatrice Haynes, said her son joined the Marines in 2007 while he was a senior at Levelland High School, and spent his 18th birthday in boot camp. She said his 19th birthday came when he was in Iraq.
"Those will be two birthdays he won't forget," she said.
His mother said she sent him a musical birthday card and kept in touch with him regularly through e-mail.
After his arrival back to Texas, she said, she and her family were taking him to his favorite restaurant, On the Border.
Johnny Haynes said his first dinner back with family and friends would be a welcomed improvement from the Marine Corps' attempt at Tex-Mex.
"They made it," he said, "but it's just not the same."
For now, Haynes said, his plans are to wait to be accepted at either Texas Tech or the University of Texas at Austin for college this fall.
Lisa Trevino said her son, a 2005 graduate of Frenship High School, joined the Marine Reserves in 2007 and his family supports his decision because "he loves it."
"The big truck, the driving, the guns, all that - that's his thing," she said.
But her son put his reasons for joining the Marines in simpler terms.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Trevino said, explaining that his decision to join the Marines came after a recruiter called him during his lunch break while working at his family's company, Pete Trevino Masonry.
As Marines return to civilian life, Capt. Matthew Beuchart said, the Marine Corps is concerned for their safety at home, as the most dangerous time is within 72 to 96 hours of their return home when they may drink and party with friends.
The newly returned Marines will go through a set of classes and be briefed, he said, to "climatize" them for driving on American roads and adjusting to family life.
"If they spend eight months living in Iraq, we don't want to lose them to anything stupid as soon as they get back," he said.
To comment on this story:
adam.young@lubbockonline.com l 766-8725
walt.nett@lubbockonline.com l 766-8706
OUR MILITARY/Loved ones welcome home first of 42
Marines from city Reserve unit
Ellie