Welcome home, 950th!
Freedom is not free
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The 950th Engineer Company, headquartered in Superior, WI, has returned back to the United States after being deployed to Afghanistan last year. My brother-in-law is among the ranks, and we are thankful he is back on U.S. soil. Everyone who deployed returned safely which makes my heart smile.
For me, it seems like it was just last week that we were attending the send-off ceremonies last fall. I was a mess of tears as I watched fathers cling to their children as tears rolled down their eyes in the final minutes before they boarded the bus. As with every deployment, the lives of so many are affected. Soldiers miss their childrens' milestones or miss births altogether, and they'll never get this last year back. Like I said, my last year has flown by. I "retired" to stay home with my kids, we learned we would be moving to Houston and thus had to sell our home in Minnesota, and we purchased a new house in Texas. My life was also disrupted, and some of it has been hard as we transitioned to our new "normal", but I had my husband, my rock, right along side me. My trials were pretty trivial compared to what many troops have gone through. When I get scared or upset about something, I always think about what they might be going through, and I realize that what I'm going through is usually not that big...in the grand scheme of things. It helps me put things in perspective and to appreciate and remember their actions. Sometimes as we get caught up in our own lives, we forget about the war across the world, our neighbor's fight with cancer, or a soldier's son missing his daddy for an entire year.
This group of soldiers has arrived back safely, but for many their battles may not be over. They all must first transition back to civilian life which can be a struggle. I can't imagine doing it. As their life here was kind of put on hold, everyone else had to continue and learn to live without them. I pray that is goes well for all of them and that they all have the support they need to make it successful. The memories of what they've seen and done must also be haunting, and I pray that God gives them the strength to ask for help if they suffer from depression, PTS, or any other struggles that come their way. We have lost too many veterans after they come back safely from a war zone. My heart just aches as I think all of this and the families affected.
I just love, love, love happy endings, and I could just bawl in front of the computer for hours watching those surprise homecoming videos. I admire our troops immensely for their bravery and sacrifices for our country. I often feel insignificant when I think of them, and I know that I don't do enough to show my appreciation. I've done better in recent years; I have Kevin to thank for that. He introduced me to the military life and to many exemplary soldiers while he served. I try to thank our military when I see them, and I hope this post will compel at least one more person to do the same.
After a night of thunderstorms in West Texas, the rain let up just as the airplane that carried the 950th Engineer...
Posted by Mobilization and Deployment, DPTMS on Monday, August 24, 2015
Additional Photos by Wisconsin National Guard
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