Governor wishes soldiers of Bravo Company godspeed

Support for each other: Donna Gosney wipes a tear and hugs Tammy Petrea, left, whose husband, Joe, and son, Brian Robertson, will be departing with the Bravo unit for Fort Bragg. Donna Gosney's husband, Leo, is also part of the group destined for Iraq. Photo by Wayne Hinshaw, Salisbury Post

By Rose Post

Salisbury Post

Black Hawk pilot Tim Hughen of Winston-Salem won't have to wait until he gets home to see 5-month-old Tyler's first tooth when it pops through.

Or hear his first word because surely that will happen, too, before his dad gets home from the war in Iraq.

But Tim and his wife, Amy, have taken care of that.

"We found out the week after Tyler was born that they were going," she explained Friday night at the going-away ceremony for Bravo Company, a unit of the 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment of the North Carolina National Guard. At the end of the gathering, more than 400 family members stood up and stretched and wiped away the tears as they talked and hugged each other and faced a little more than a year of separation.

More than a year?

They couldn't tolerate that, the Hughens decided, so they went to work to make sure they'd get to see each other.

"We are going to be equipped with Web cameras," Amy explained, "so we can see and converse with each other every day over the Internet on our computers — and we bought a digital camera for Tyler's day care center" so his caretakers can take pictures of him every day and daddy will see the changes day by day as they happen.

Tyler, cuddled comfortably in his mother's arms with eyes wide open to take in all the sights and sounds of the farewell ceremony at the National Guard Aviation Armory, seemed to understand exactly what was going on, no matter his tender age.

What was going on were feelings that come with war and duty and love and separation and pride, feelings evident in eyes and tears that were surreptitiously wiped away and in the sounds of children's voices and the deep caring evident as a handful of speakers said goodbye and wished the company good luck.

It was evident in the sound and emotion of the 440th Army band capping a spirited concert of military music as the crowd gathered with that old familiar "caissons go marching along" that's been renamed "The Army Song" as the 59 members of the company marched in to take their places in the big Armory hall.

The feelings were evident in the stories quietly being lived out in everyone there.

Vickie Miller was there Friday to say goodbye to her brother, Joe Petrea, a helicopter mechanics crew chief.

"Joe is 48 years old," she said. "Don't you think that's kind of old for a man going off to war?

"I don't think he has many more years until he can retire."

But she hasn't heard him complain, and his wife, Tammy, has taken on the job of family support chairman, and Vickie knows he's going to be all right.

Edgar Todd Bowers, a brother of Michelle Davis of Cleveland, is also a helicopter mechanic, and she admits quickly, "We didn't expect anything like this. He's 33 years old."

And Shirley James of Mocksville?

Her son was in the Marines for seven years, including service during Desert Storm, but he came out and discovered he didn't like civilian life.

"And he's more than willing to go," she said proudly. "He says there are enough men over there who've been there long enough. They should be able to come back to see their families."

Looking at the crowd, she shook her head.

"We got here about 5:15," she said, "and didn't expect this much crowd."

Gov. Mike Easley salutes with Maj. Brian Pierce (second from left) and other officers. Photo by Wayne Hinshaw, Salisbury Post

But the crowd didn't bother her. It seemed appropriate for the occasion that featured a send-off by Gov. Mike Easley, who flew in to wish the soldiers godspeed and let them know how much he'd miss them because they often went with him to disasters.

"It's important," he told them, "that we show up and show our support for our soldiers," adding it takes courage, a lot of courage, to leave their families, their homes, their jobs.

"You're all volunteers, citizen solders," he said, "who have fought fires in Texas, worked in the drug wars, supported special forces at Fort Bragg, and so much more.

"B Company," he said, "is special to me. I've traveled with this unit during the past few years from disaster to disaster, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, but they always get the job done. And I always come away with a deep sense of pride."

The soldiers, he said, have been trained, have the skills and the commitment, but most importantly they have each other.

"And we are ready to support you all the way."

Moreover, he told the families, "we will see you have everything you need."

A similar promise was made by Mike Davis, exalted ruler of the local Elks Lodge, who entertained the unit at a dinner a couple of weeks ago — and made a promise.

"If any of the families have a problem," he said, "then we have a problem. We have 59 families now. I'm going to make sure that any need they have is answered, from big things to needing a baby sitter.

"Does someone need the grass cut? A night out? Call us. My son, Stephen Davis, is also deploying with this unit," and he feels all the needs of the company personally.

Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz, who understands what the families are experiencing because her husband, Bill, went to war just before their first child was born, and years later she had to say goodbye to that son when he was in the military, too.

"And we will be here for them," she told the families, "when they come back.

Major Brian Pierce, commander of the unit, concluded best wishes from the officers in the chain of command and promised the families that "we'll bring them all home safely."

The unit spent the day putting the final touches on their equipment which is being taken to Fort Bragg today, had a special lunch of barbecue and ice cream provided by Checkered Flag Barbecue with ice cream for desert from Curt and Geri's.

And waitresses from Checkered Flag also raised over $1,000 to provide the soldiers gift bags with the kind of incidentals soldiers need and phone cards, according to Jennifer Alexander, who has been busy helping the unit.

And Sunday at 11 a.m. they'll board buses bound for about 60 days of training at Fort Bragg.

And then they'll leave for Iraq — and war.

Contact Rose Post at 704-797-4251 or rpost@salisburypost.com.

©2004, The Salisbury Post