Parades are for Soldiers

[sfc_darrel]

The yellow ribbons tied around light poles are faded and tattered, a reminder that it's been months since the 211th Military Police left for Afghanistan.

No one knows when the Army National Guard unit will be back on U.S. soil, much less to its mountain hometowns west of Asheville.

A hoped-for July return became August, now maybe September. Whenever the talk seems to have some substance, Kim Newland, Pat Fox and Sherry Parrish wives of 211th members start phoning motels.

They don't know which base the 211th will return to. They take a chance and reserve rooms near Fort Bragg, hoping they'll remember to cancel the reservations if the unit's return gets pushed back again.

In the meantime, they cope with births, deaths and the usual domestic crises, largely alone but for each other.


The 211th was sent off to war with speeches and yellow ribbons, but their families have been forgotten, Kim Newland said.

"When it gets down to the nitty-gritty holidays, graduations you have to go and solicit help," she said. "When those guys step back on the soil, they'll parade them back here and make heroes of them, but it's not for those soldiers it's for the politicians."

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20020902_678.html

The people come to the parade for the soldiers. They don't come for the polititians.

Darrel