New mission: R & R

DALTON — When Charlie Troop’s Sgt. Steven Grant came home on leave from Afghanistan in September, he popped the question to his fiancee Randi Gambrell. Now that the unit has returned for good, they can go forward with their wedding plans.

“It’s a relief to be back,” said Grant, of Dalton, after a welcome home ceremony for the unit at Harmon Field Tuesday afternoon. “I just plan to take it easy for awhile and try to get my life back in order. We talked about getting married while I was over there.”

Around 150 people showed up for the reconnaissance force’s first stop at the Kmart on West Walnut Avenue. Dozens of flags waved in a stiff breeze there, blue-lighted police cruisers led the way and Patriot Guard Riders rumbled through on motorcycles to herald the Dalton-based Georgia Army National Guard unit’s arrival. Moments later, hundreds of citizens clapped and shouted at the Dalton High football stadium as the unit, which had left Dalton last March on their way to eventual deployment in Afghanistan, paraded down Crawford Street. The cheering grew even louder as the troop marched four-abreast onto the center of the field.

Retired Maj. Raymond McCraney said before an invocation at the stadium, “It’s a great day, it’s a grand day ... a day of celebration.”

Mayor David Pennington echoed the theme.

“When we saw you off from the (First) Presbyterian Church, I thought, ‘Will they all be back?’” he said. “We sent 90 off, and today there’s 90 back ... they epitomize to me the ideal of what a citizen-soldier is.”

He told the soldiers they held “dual citizenship” with Dalton no matter where they lived, and read a proclamation declaring March 9, 2010, as “Charlie Company Day.”

As part of the ceremony, Sgt. David Amos was awarded the Army Commendation medal with a “V” device for saving the life of an 8-year-old Afghan child who had been wounded during a grenade attack.

“It feels great to be here,” said Capt. Jason Lewis, the commanding officer. “I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is to get these guys home safely to their families. The feeling last week was one of anticipation. They knew they had to complete the task at (Fort) Stewart, and then they could get home and take their boots off.”

Pvt. Shane Richardson said, “It feels great — definitely awesome — to be home.”

Richardson, a 2008 graduate of Dalton High, was driving a Humvee when it ran over an improvised explosive device (IED) in April. Three of his fellow soldiers were wounded seriously and are recovering. Richardson received the lightest wound with 12 stitches in his forehead. He said he was back on duty in two weeks. His plans include enrolling at Dalton State College and “just hanging around with my family — rest and relaxation.”

1st Sgt. Ronnie Perryman of Rincon said it felt “absolutely wonderful” to be back in Georgia.

“Before we left I don’t think I could have told you we’d be bringing 90 guys back home,” he said. “Afghanistan has become much more volatile, but everyone here is walking and has all their limbs. It’s a wonderful day.”

Blanca Rodriguez, who took over leading the Family Readiness Group on the home front, came with her sons Robert, 9, and Ramiro III, 5, to meet her husband, Sgt. Ramiro Rodriguez.

“I can’t breathe,” she gushed excitedly. “I’m so glad it’s over. I’ll be able to sleep better at night.”

Her husband said, “It feels great. I’ve missed my wife and kids, and I’ve waited for this moment a long time. They kept pushing the date back in Afghanistan and Fort Stewart, but now it’s finally here.”

Lt. Robert Morris of Bremen said “the best part” was “seeing guys get back with their families and carrying on their lives.”

He was asked about his immediate plans.

“I’m going to take the honeymoon I never got to take in October of 2008,” he said.

“We’re just happy to have him back,” said his mother, Lisa Morris. “We’ve been sending up a lot of prayer for all of them. We live far away from here, but every time I turned around there was an e-mail about what Dalton was doing for them.”

Carlos Anliker of El Salvador is in Dalton as a member of the Georgia Rotary Student Program. He held an American flag while waiting for the troops to arrive at Kmart.

“It’s great,” he said of the celebratory spirit. “I admire the patriotism of how you honor your troops. It looks like a holiday to me with all your flags. I’m proud to say that El Salvador is the only Latin American country that still has troops in Iraq.”

Rick Brown of the Operation Uplift support group said he learned the “regular” active duty soldiers and Marines in Afghanistan were “mad” at Charlie Troop.

“It was because C Troop got so much stuff from home,” he said. “It even bogged down the mail at Christmas time. Some of the guys were even e-mailing their parents and telling them to quit sending stuff — they had everything they needed.”

Soon the members of the unit will go back to once-a-month drills on the weekend rather than facing enemy fire and roadside bombs as part of their workday.

Mission accomplished.

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‘C’ Troop back following war deployment

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