On Monday, April 6, I traveled with my parents to Lapeer, MI to see my sister off as she prepares to leave for Afghanistan. Anne is in the National Guard as a 2nd LT. She volunteered to go overseas with this company to gain experience and due her duty as a soldier. The 464th Quartermaster Company will be providing laundry, shower, and clothing repair support for a Brigade Combat Team. The community of Lapeer had a send off party for the troops. What a moving experience. These first 3 pictures were taken at the high school where the community donated food for a dinner for the soldiers and their families. I was moved at how many people were there. And what I really wished was that I got a picture of the enterance. As we walked down the sidewalk outside to enter the high school, there were veterans lined up holding flags showing there support for the soldiers. I wanted to cry before I even got into the cafeteria. Then when I did get inside, my eyes really did tear up.
Here is my dad, my mom, and Anne.
Anne and I
This is Anne with her husband Walter.
When the ceremony started, all of the soldiers marched in and fell into line. I had to take 2 pictures in order to show how big the company was.
Once the ceremony was finished (it only lasted 40 minutes), the soldiers headed out to the waiting buses. The buses then took all of the soldiers to the armory where family could meet up with them once again. (Anne is the 3rd one back.)The following pictures show you how full the armory was. Time for more tears! Words cannot describe how it felt to be there. It was great that there was so much family time. I think that was important for the families who were there to say good-bye and for the soldiers. People could stay as long as they wanted. Many stayed until it was time for the soldiers to get on the bus to begin their journey. They were headed to WI that night for a month. In WI they will have more training and sometime at the end of April or the beginning of May, they will head over to Afghanistan for about a year (or so).
God Speed Lieutenent Anne Scott. We love you and will miss you. Stay safe.
4 comments:
Thank you so much for posting these pictures! I wish I could have been there.
Nicely done, Amy. You captured the pride and emotion that all of us felt that day. Thank you for sharing it.
Love, Mom
I can't even image how hard it was to see her off. We will be praying for her safe return.
My husband is in the unit with Anne, in her platoon - thanks for the pictures - it's always great to see the ones other people took too, from their perspective.
Becki Woodhams
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