On December 6, 2005, I was driving south towards St. Paul when I started to notice cars parked along the northbound lane. After a few miles, I saw American flags and welcome home signs, and I realized that I would soon see returning troops.
Finally, a convoy with a lead vehicle, blinking lights and a huge flag followed by two charter buses came north, with waiting cars pulling in behind them. I blinked my lights, honked my horn and saluted. They didn't see me of course, but I was part of the welcoming committee whether they knew it or not. Later I learned that they were an Army National Guard Company returning troops from Iraq to their homes in Staples and Brainerd, Minn. I wrote an article that week about the thrilling homecoming and said, "What we want to see is more buses bringing troops home from Iraq and none headed the other way."
But they have been headed the other way, and continue to this day to be headed the other way with the most recent surge of troops. As a matter of fact, 1,064 American troops have been killed in that war from that date in December of 2005 to the present time.
On Palm Sunday, we met a homecoming of another kind. Driving west to Fargo to see some of our family, we noticed cars parked along the highway, just waiting. The further west we drove, the more cars we saw. On one overpass there must have been a dozen lined up to join a motorcade. Then we remembered that the body of National Guardsman Staff Sgt. Greg Riewer, 28, was to be flown to Fargo, then transported to his hometown of Frazee for community services. Riewer was killed by a roadside bomb in Fallujah. He was one of 13 children.
When we saw the convoy coming towards us, we pulled over to the side of the highway and turned on our blinkers. Across the road was a man waving a gigantic American flag and a little boy with a tiny flag. The leading patrol unit had blinking lights. It was followed by a hearse. Then car after car and a hometown charter bus filled with hometown folks escorting their fallen soldier home. There were no words in our car, just tears.
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Three days later, his funeral was held in the high school gym in Frazee. His parents and siblings were all there, and more people filled that gym than the population of Frazee. The entire community mourned.
We all mourn. The death toll in Iraq is now at 3,256 Americans killed. God bless every one of them, and their grieving families. How many more sad homecomings can we bear? How many more tears must fall?
"Yes, they'll all come out to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly... as they lay me 'neath the green, green grass of home."
(From the "Green, Green Grass of Home")
