Parade set to honor Marines’ return from Iraq deployment
BY HEIDI RUCKNO
STAFF WRITER
04/20/2008

WYOMING — Seven United States Marines will be honored with a parade today to celebrate their return from a yearlong deployment to Iraq.


The parade for the Marines, part of Support Squadron 472, Detachment Alpha, will begin at 3 p.m. It will form at Rutter Avenue and River Street in Forty Fort, proceed on River Street onto Wyoming Avenue, and disband in front of the Marine Barracks at 1118 Wyoming Ave.

The soldiers arrived home on April 14. They were serving with another unit at the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, in the western province of Al Anbar, Maj. Eric Adams said.

They provided essential services to combat forces, like fuel, supplies, engineering expertise, and food service, Adams said. They were primarily in the background, but were there to make sure the troops on the front lines had everything they needed. The unit does not typically deploy in its entirety, but Adams said it was deployed to Iraq in 2005. Its solders, on the other hand, are in demand. Adams said they are frequently deployed with other units, depending on the type of services they need.

Cpl. Matthew Gennaria, who makes his home in Bloomsburg, just returned from his second tour. His colleague, Sgt. Jason Beall of York, was also on a second tour.

Even though they were in secure locations, they were stuck on a base halfway around the world. Adjusting to life without their friends and families was not an easy task, they said.

“It was more of a psychological thing for us than a physical hardship,” said Beal. “We still knew we were doing something very important.”

Having been through the drill before, they are eager to celebrate their homecoming with their colleagues, some of whom are getting reacquainted with new family members.

Lance Cpl. Sean Janowicz, a Moscow resident, met his baby daughter for the first time when he arrived home, said Gennaria, who was his roommate in Iraq.

The homecoming will be held in conjunction with the unit’s Family/Community Day event, which will be held at Frank Slapar Park, on Stites Street in Swoyersville, between 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

hruckno@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2109

Ellie