iWebTech:    Chird Bobbitt

Beebe says goodbye to guardsmen

BY Holly Latimer

Staff Writer    28 Oct 2993

Beebe bid farewell to its National Guard troops Monday afternoon.

The soldiers listened somberly to speakers before being handed a gift pack from the city and Chamber of Commerce and a Bible from the Gideons. The unit was also presented a handmade flag by Wendy Henderson and students from Apple Blossom Child Care in Beebe.

The event was sponsored by Arkansas State University-Beebe and the Beebe Chamber of Commerce.

Specialist Stacy Daniel stared at her Bible and gift pack after its presentation. Daniel is being sent to Iraq on her first deployment with the National Guard.

Daniel said she didn't know if she was nervous.

"I got to do it," she said. "It doesn't bother me much."

In a corner of the room, Derek Willhite embraced his girlfriend Whitney Williams. Williams was also being deployed for the first time.

"I don't want to leave," she said.

Willhite said, "She doesn't want to leave me."

The soldiers who had faced deployment before had a different outlook on the ceremony. Charles King said he had been deployed as a Navy reservist during Desert Shield, but had not gone overseas. King sat with his wife, Judy, and daughter, Laura Grace, after getting cake and punch.

Judy said her husband was deployed in 1990 "right after we got married."

He was gone for three months.

King said this was his first major deployment.

"I'm kind of scared about it," he said.

Specialist E-4 Melvin Wright was laughing with friends and family after the ceremony. Wright, a former Marine, went to the Middle East during Dessert Storm.

"I've been over there and I know what awaits me," he said. "The hardest thing is leaving my family."

Wright said the soldiers are going to a place they don't know.

"We'll have to adjust to that," he said.

To help him adjust, Wright said he was praying.

"I rely on God and family support," he said. "It means a lot."

Helping to prepare the soldiers for their time in Iraq was Sgt. Macario Leal of San Antonio, Texas. Leal is an active duty soldier from the 2nd Brigade.

"We have to train up before we send them to Iraq," he said.

The training that began in Beebe will continue at Fort Hood, Texas. Leal said he will meet up with the soldiers again at Ft. Hood.

"It is going to be hard.," he said. "It is hard going into a small community and bonding together. Everybody grows on you. You meet their family and kids."

One person watching the soldiers say goodbye to family and friends was City Clerk/Treasurer Paul Hill. Hill was active duty Air Force for 24 years before retiring a year ago.

"Part of me wants to get back in and help," he said. "Another part of knows I've already done my service and can be more useful here."

The soldiers leave today at 8 or 8:30 a.m. They will train in Ft. Hood for three months before going to Iraq.

Veterans Affairs