- FAST FACTS:
- 200 Members of 1174th Steel Riders Return to Memphis
- Hundreds more gathered to welcome them home
- Transportation Company served in Iraq
tom.powell@wreg.com
tompowell3 on Twitter
(MEMPHIS, TN 3/25/2010) -- Elizabeth Perkins stands anxiously inside the National Guard Armory on Holmes, holding her daughter Reagan in her arms.
When you're a guard member's wife, there are plenty of anxious moments. This anxiety is the good type. It's the kind you feel when something great is about to happen.
Perkins hears someone shout from the crowd that the buses are just a few minutes away. On one of those busses is her husband, Reagan's dad, a member of the 1174th Transportation Company of the National Guard. Reagan was born during her dad's deployment.
The busses arrive, then the men and women in uniform quickly step back down on Memphis Soil. It takes everything Elizabeth has not to run straight for her husband, but there are few more formalities to take care of first.
The soldiers make their way to the armory, where they stand in formation, waiting for the words they've been longing to hear. "Mission Complete," says a man at the front of the formation. The crowd erupts in applause. It's finally time for Elizabeth and Reagan to go hug dad.
Sergeant First Class Josh Perkins walks straight for his family. "It feels amazing," he says about kissing his wife and daughter. "My wife is the strongest person I know. Without her I couldn't do this."
Across the way, a tearful mom wipes away tears after she hugs her daughter. Cozet Monger says not a day went by during the deployment that she didn't worry and pray for her daughter Robin. She's so grateful she's back home safe and sound, along with the rest of the company. "I'm very proud of her," says Monger. "I'm proud of everybody. I love these guys."
Executive Officer Lt. Joann Lewis quickly makes her way to her son Dre. He jumps on her back, and doesn't let go. "I missed him," she says as Dre blows on a red white and blue noise maker. She says it was tough to be away, but she felt an obligation and a duty to go overseas. "This is for my country, and my son."
Then there's the newlyweds. Kelsie Lannom married Specialist Sean Lannom four days before he was deployed to Iraq. They marked his homecoming with a quick kiss. "I'm really proud of him," she says. He says he couldn't have made it all those months without her letters, calls and encouragement.
The 1174th Transportation Company traveled over a half million miles, working on projects to make a smoother transition for the eventual pullout of American troops.
