Military parents support troops - and one another
Sisters event a chance for questions, stories

By Patrick Cliff / The Bulletin
Published: December 28. 2008 4:00AM PST

SISTERS — The Military Parents of Sisters is a 1-year-old group that parents join both for support and for information.

Some of the parents have sons who have yet to serve. Others have sons — and there are only parents of sons, so far — who are still in training or at one of the military academies.

On Saturday, the group held a small reunion for Sisters High School graduates to meet up and trade stories. But the parents wanted first-hand information. What was the best course for their sons? Should their sons go to college first? What does that acronym mean?

Four servicemen, or servicemen to be, who are all graduates of the high school, gathered with the families in the community room at Ray’s Food Place, near U.S. Highway 20 and West McKinney Butte Road. There were pots of fresh coffee, and a cookie and doughnut platter with mini American flags sprouting from the center. American flag bunting decorated the banquet table.

But everyone was so engaged with what the guests of honor said, the only evidence of eating was a poppy seed muffin that had a corner of the top picked away.

First Lt. Justin Robson, 34, has served in the military for more than a decade. He joined the Oregon National Guard after starting his military career in the U.S. Marines. Robson has served two tours of duty, one each in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is preparing for a third with the Guard.

“It’s so nice to know people are here and to know you’re remembered,” Robson said.

The parents group, he added, frequently sends care packages to troops abroad. When Robson was in Afghanistan, the packages helped with the troops’ humanitarian efforts, he said. Troops passed out supplies to villagers and candy to local children.

“It was a great morale boost,” Robson said. “The kids just loved it.”

As much as the parents were there to support their sons on Saturday, they’re also there to support each other, said Carla Merrell, who organized the event.

Merrell’s son is Sgt. Jacob Merrell, 23, of the Marine Corps. He has served two tours so far — one in Iraq and the other in Jordan and Kuwait.

Even though the parents said the technology available to communicate with their sons has improved tremendously in the last seven years, it can be difficult to understand what the troops face — whether in boot camp or in Iraq, Merrell said.

“We’re trying hard to get it. We’re trying hard to understand your lives,” Merrell said to the four graduates during the meeting.

Cadet John Liming, 19, is in his second year at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. During the reunion, Liming spoke about his experience. Moving from Sisters High School — and leaving friends behind here — wasn’t easy, at least not at first, he said.

“The transition from high school to West Point is huge,” Liming said. “I feel like at last, I’m making progress.”

A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Lt. j.g. Corey Lounsbury, 27, said making it through the academy wasn’t easy, and that he changed his mind about what he wanted to do in the Navy. After initially hoping to become a pilot, Lounsbury joined the Navy Civil Engineer Corps — the public works arm of the military.

Lounsbury told the assembled parents — of which there were about a dozen — that their children should take time to decide on a military path.

“Tell them to look down the road a few years,” Lounsbury said.

The youngest attendee was Hospital Recruit Thad Anderson, 18, who is training to become a medic. Anderson doesn’t know when he will deploy, though it may be in the next year, he said. Anderson hopes to deploy as a medic for the Marines and go to Iraq.

Anderson said he appreciated the reunion.

“Actually, it’s really nice,” Anderson said. “It’s a good way to express feelings.”

Patrick Cliff can be reached at 541-633-2161 or at pcliff@bendbulletin.com.

Ellie