Montevideo 151st Field Artillery, Headquarters Battery, Welcome Home

We staged and left Marshall promply at 8:00 am, with several motorcycles and vehicles, and arrived at the armory in Montevideo about 9:00. I immediately asked the first soldier I saw to introduce me to whomever was in charge, and Jeremy Vanderhagen warmly greeted us. I was shown the layout of the Welcome Home plans, and the first special request was made: "Could we have two PGR members stand above the podium for the ceremony with their flags?" That honor was proudly filled later in the day by the parents of a returning soldier.

Jeremy's second request was for us to start handling traffic and parking details. Only family members of the returning soldiers were allowed into the armory's parking lot. All others were guided down to the school parking lot, just south of the armory. The third request involved having two of our lady members hand out programs at the school's main entrance, until the original helpers showed up, as people were already arriving very early.

Once again, Jeremy asked for help to block a driveway, while he used the vehicle that had been blocking it, and left to make sure people along the route into Montevideo were in the right spots, as two highways were involved. PGR member Nate Lolley, the Army recruiter from Marshall, and his wife, Tania, took up that duty. Tania also handled signing in members as they arrived.

Meanwhile, we were getting reports of a bus breaking down, and our escort riders out at the Plato relay point along Hwy 212, were wondering what was happening, so we kept them updated as much as possible. Chris Dunsmore, heading up the final relay riders, called a friend of his in Granite Falls, and asked him to call me as soon as the procession passed through Granite Falls, which gave us about a 15 minute heads up to their arrival. Once again, Jeremy came out and asked for help with his final request, and our flag line was moved and utilized to help guide the procession through the parking lot and into the proper drive, to end up in front of the armory. What an honor that was for our members to be able to stand there when the escort and buses arrived, and see the troops excitedly looking down at our flag line as they drove in. And you should have heard the roar of the crowd when the escort cycles rapped their pipes before shutting down their engines !

Shortly before the troops arrived, Captain Watters walked our flag line, and warmly greeted and thanked each member. With the escort bike riders, we had a total of 30 members, including two signing up on the spot and standing with us. One rode from Albert Lea, leaving in the morning cold at 6:30 am.

As soon as the buses went by, we held a short briefing to cover the details for the ceremony at the school. At this briefing, I read an email that had been sent from a young Appleton soldier to the Ride Captains that had handled the send offs. He had sent a T-Shirt from Iraq to each one of us, a picture of which I have included on the picture link. I would like to share that email message with all of you:

"I appreciate you and all your riders being there for us on our send off as well as your mission. Knowing if something happens to me that you will be there to shield my family and ensure that my service is carried out in a dignified manner. Thank you from a 175 FSC Minnesota National Guard Soldier."

All of us in western Minnesota rejoice on this Easter Sunday that all of our soldiers on this deployment came home, none were injured, and there were no incidents during their year in Kuwait and Iraq. It was mentioned at the ceremony that they had engaged the enemy 38 times while performing their duties. There was also a huge cheer from the crowd when it was mentioned that the mechanics in the unit had fixed the broken down bus using parts from an ink pen ! I haven't confirmed this, but apparently the air horn stuck on the bus, bleeding down the air, causing the brakes to lock.

At the short ceremony, we stood our flag line along the rear balcony rail, and had a wonderful view of the soldiers marching in, and an even better view as they dismissed, one at a time, and their family members rushed to their sides. As I left the ceremony and walked back through the armory, Captain Watters stood and again thanked us for all we did for these Welcome Homes. Later that morning, Ron Mackendanz had the opportunity to finally meet him, and when we gathered at the American Legion, Captain Watters bought a round of beverage for all, and several pizzas were served to our members.

Below are two links of pictures sent to me. The first is of the Montevideo deployment ceremony, and the second is of yesterday's welcome home. This come from "Paulette."

Below that are the pictures I took yesterday.

(@) Pictures from mission

(@) Pictures from mission

(@) Pictures from mission

Respectfully submitted,

Alan