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Yakima-based 907th comes home today
By JAMES JOYCE III
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

For Christmas they wanted beef jerky, otter pops and children's artwork. They got that wish. Today the members of Yakima-based 907th Engineer Detachment will get the greatest gift of all. They are coming home.

The 25-member Army Reserve unit has served 13 months in Kuwait and Iraq fighting fires and doing crash rescues. They provided support to U.S. soldiers controlling fires from car bombs, mortar attacks and convoy ambushes.

About five members of the unit returned home about a week ago, said Maj. Hillary Luton, public affairs officer with the 70th Regional Readiness Command.

The detachment is made up of 24 men and one woman, and one-third of its members are from the Yakima Valley. Others hail from Everett.

Grandview's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6929 adopted the small unit just before the holidays and sent about 1,500 pounds of goods, something for each member.

"We just kind of adopted them because they are a small unit and we are a small post," VFW Post 6929 commander Danny Schultz said. "We hope to get to meet some of them when they come home."

The Grandview post has about 300 members, including its women's auxiliary. They sent movies, books, gum, Chapstick, candy and letters and a thank-you letter sent by the troop hangs on a board in the VFW post.

Schultz said the news of the unit's return came as a surprise, and they have yet to plan a celebration. But that is something that's in the works.

The 20 members of the unit who will return today will spend about a week at Fort Lewis undergoing a medical review and other administrative duties.

They are expected to arrive at Fort Lewis about 4 p.m.