July 13, 2004
Green Bay
From Joyce:
ASHWAUBENON — As music from the 451st Army Reserve Band filled the air Sunday, Randy Brey leaned over to fellow Family Readiness Group member Kathy Ammerman and joked about getting nearby members together for a group hug.
One by one, family and friends who had waited nervously as their loved ones in the Ashwaubenon-based 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion spent roughly a year in Iraq locked arms, thanking one another for their gracious support.
It was a moment of spontaneity steeped in heartfelt emotion.
Sure, hugs and tears had been shared before. But Sunday’s contained an almost surreal mixture of relief, sadness and joy.
In many ways, the 432nd’s public welcome home — which kicked off with a parade and included an hour-long ceremony in front of the Brown County Veterans Memorial — was a salute to two kinds of families banded together by sacrifice.
There were kindred spirits, like those belonging to the Family Readiness Group, who found ways to cope with and temper their loneliness together while those close to them were deployed.
There were also fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives who have since been reunited but won’t soon forget the time they spent apart.
Pictures of the event available here:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/photogallery/432ndparade/
“It was extremely worrisome,” said Brey, of Mishicot, whose son, Jeremiah, is a specialist with the 432nd. “There were times when I didn’t know what to do. But I came to the Reserve Center and found other families who wanted the same thing I did: a safe return for our loved ones. Our group really became one big family.”
From his seat alongside fellow members of the 432nd, Jeremiah Brey said he was taken aback by the show of community support. With homemade signs and miniature American flags in tow, hundreds lined the parade route to offer a simple wave or to snap a picture. At the noon ceremony, which was attended by national and local dignitaries, as well as veterans of past wars, the crowd clapped and hollered at every turn.
“It was overwhelming,” said Brey, who worked as a diesel mechanic with the unit. “Sometimes you don’t know what to believe. But then you take a look around and see that a lot of people took the time to show their support.”
Members of the 432nd’s Family Readiness Group, who received national recognition with a Family Readiness Group of the Year award Sunday, started working on welcome-home plans in September. That was about the same time most of the unit was moving from southern Iraq to areas west of Baghdad out to the Syrian border.
During the 11-month deployment, members of the 432nd worked on a long list of projects including local government initiatives, infrastructure work and setting up banks and schools. They returned home in April.
In a somber side note to Sunday’s fanfare, roughly 12 soldiers from the unit are expected to leave for training at Fort McCoy this week, and in all likelihood will join up with other units before heading to Iraq.
“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for a job well done,” said Dan Denning of the U.S. Department of Defense before reading a letter from President Bush during the ceremony. “Rebuilding a country almost from scratch is a difficult endeavor.”
In perhaps the most poignant moment of the ceremony, a chime rang and a dove was released as the names of those Wisconsin soldiers killed in Iraq were read aloud. Shortly after, the parents of one of the fallen — Army Spc. Nichole Frye of Little River, who was killed in February — received a check for a scholarship fund in their daughter’s name while the audience burst into robust applause.
After witnessing the swelling emotion from the day’s events, Lt. Col. Dan Chachakis of Richton Park, Ill., happily issued the simple response of “It’s good to be back.” Knowing community members stand by the unit’s work helps ease the transition period from soldier to civilian, Chachakis said.
“There are a lot of adjustments we have to make,” he said. “It can be something as simple as the weather, or as complicated as going back to work.”
Lt. Col. Dan Ammerman of De Pere, who commanded the 432nd for the first half of the deployment, said stories of adversity continue even as soldiers return home. Since he’s been back, Ammerman said he’s gone out of his way to take note of the simple pleasures life has to offer.
“I slept outside when I was in Iraq. It’s nice just to have a roof over my head,” he said. “I mean, you notice everything, whether it’s having air conditioning or clean water … or just being able to drive in the car and not worry about being shot at or blown up. The safety, security and stability we have at home … you don’t take that for granted once you’ve been in Iraq.”
Also to be added to Ammerman’s list: time spent with his wife, Kathy, adviser to the 432nd’s Family Readiness Group and one of the lead organizers of Sunday’s event. While heading to the tailgate party that followed at the Stadium View Sports Bar and Grill, Kathy Ammerman said she couldn’t have been more pleased by the turnout.
“It was more than I could ever have imagined,” she said. “I think (Sunday) showed the soldiers that all their efforts were not in vain.”
Staff Sargent Bea Jaeger takes a break as the band waits for its next number. Photo by B. A. Rupert/Press Gazette
ASHWAUBENON — The celebratory mood for Sunday’s 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion welcome-home bash gave way to a tense situation as the Brown County Bomb Squad detonated a suspicious bag found in a nearby Holmgren Way parking lot.
At 11:38 a.m., a passerby notified officers of an unattended black case sitting between two cars in the lot of Pioneer Credit Union, 2004 Holmgren Way.
The scheduled military parade, which ended down the road at the Brown County Veterans Memorial, had passed by the lot minutes earlier, said Ashwaubenon Public Safety Lt. Ken Raupach.
Officers investigated the soft-sided laptop-computer-style bag and contacted the Brown County Bomb Squad, which performed a field X-ray of the bag.
After getting inconclusive results, the bag was detonated on site. It was revealed to contain no dangerous materials, but rather clothes and personal items, Raupach said.
The situation was resolved shortly after 3 p.m. Several businesses in the 1900-2000 block of Holmgren Way were evacuated while officers investigated, Raupach said.
Entertainment at the barbecue was also delayed briefly at the Stadium View Bar and Grill party for the 432nd.
The bag’s owner had not been identified as of late Sunday night.
“When taking into account the totality of the situation, I think we did the right thing,” Raupach said. “The evacuation was very orderly and there was exceptional cooperation from everyone involved. We even heard members of the 432nd helped with crowd control.”
The proximity of the bag to the Stadium View, added to President Bush’s scheduled appearance in Ashwaubenon on Wednesday, led to the vigilant efforts of local authorities, Raupach said. Members of Ashwaubenon Public Safety, the Green Bay Police Department, the Brown County Sheriff’s Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol all helped block off the surrounding area.
“Considering the festivities and the dignitaries that will be descending upon the area this week, we didn’t want to take a chance with anything,” Raupach said.
“The bag didn’t seem to belong to anyone … but it was not leaking or ticking. We decided it was better to err on the side of caution.”
By Ray Barrington
News-Chronicle
They lined Holmgren Way wearing every possible combination of red, white and blue. They waved little flags, carried signs, cheered everything that moved and cheered double when what was moving wore a uniform.
And they had one message: "Welcome home."
Crowds got a chance to salute the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, the Green Bay-based Army Reserve unit that spent a year repairing Iraq's infrastructure after the overthrown of Saddam Hussein in the midst of insurgency, terrorism and enough sand and heat to warm a cool-blooded Wisconsinite for all time.
It was warm Sunday, too - an overcast but humid July day - but nobody minded.
Members of the 432nd marched down Holmgren Way, dressed in desert and jungle fatigues, as families waved and parade viewers applauded.
"It was bigger than I thought it would be," said Pfc. Chris Arkley of Sharon. "They even blocked the street for us."
"It was great to see all the support we got," said Amy Schroeder of Kewaunee.
The event, put together by the 432nd Family Readiness Group - the "home front" organization of reservists' families - and area veterans groups had been more than two months in the making, and no touches were spared.
There were big ones; two Ashwaubenon fire trucks forming an arch over Holmgren Way. And there were little ones; small U.S. flags handed out along the route and placed in weighted cans along the last few yards of the parade route.
The parade ended at the Brown County Veterans Memorial, where a series of dignitaries spoke.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Dan Denning read a letter from President Bush, saying "thank you for a job well done," and a small boy, Quin Habert, soloed on the national anthem. The 451st Army Reserve Band, which had played at a concert Saturday night, provided appropriate music.
One section of the ceremony was reserved for state soldiers who did not make it back from Iraq. As Rep. Mark Green read each name, a bell rang and a dove was released. In addition, the parents of Nicole Frye, a 432nd member who was killed in Iraq, were presented with a check for the Frye Memorial Scholarship at Lena High School.
Overhead, the civilian Lima Lima precision airshow team performed the "missing man" formation, with one of the four planes peeling off as the grouping approached the memorial. Green saluted the 432nd for its work in Iraq.
"Your contributions are having a positive impact on the Iraqi people," he said, "and have enhanced our efforts to make our country a safer place."
He noted they were in a "land of legends" because of the Green Bay Packers, but said the soldiers were the real legends.
There was also a presentation from the Defense Department saluting the 432nd Family Readiness Group as the national group of the year among 50 such groups nationwide.
The day ended with a "tailgate party" at the Stadium View Bar and Grill near the memorial, but many of the soldiers went home to do something they haven't had much of a chance to do in the past year: Spend a quiet Sunday at home.