A BAND OF BROTHERS COMES HOME

03/19/2006

A BAND OF BROTHERS COMES HOME By Jennie K. Hanson Cromwell, Mn March 19, 2006

559 days ago, four young men from the Cromwell area were given a Community Send-Off when they were deployed to Iraq and Saudi Arabia.  559 days later on March 19, 2006 these same young men were welcomed home by the same and grateful community.

Robbie Larson, Trent, Trace and Seth Mowers were deployed from the 216th E Battery of the National Guard Unit from Cloquet, Mn.  They each gave up 18 months of their lives to serve our country in this war torn areas of the Middle East.

The community gathered in August of 2004 to pray and wish them well on their service.  At this time community members were given a small polished black rock to carry with them the whole time they were gone.  These rocks represented the time the guys would be spending in Iraq ("I Rock") and also a reminder to pray everyday for the guys while they were in Harm’s Way.

It must have helped, because our guys came back safe and sound.  Not one of the guys or gals from the 216th were seriously hurt or wounded while they were away.

The Welcome Home Celebration took place at the Bethany Lutheran Church on Sunday, March 19th, 2006 in Cromwell.  The church was filled with family and friends who wanted to thank these guys for their service and to praise God for their safe return.

It seemed that Robbie, Seth, Trace, and Trent were humbled by the wonderful response of their friends and families.  In their own quiet way, they thanked everyone for keeping them in their thoughts and prayers while they were away.

The program started with the singing of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”, a responsive reading of the 27th Psalm, prayers and a slide show that the guys narrated as the pictures appeared on the screen.  There were pictures of Baghdad, car bombings, roadside bombings, bombed out vehicles, including the Army Vehicles, and many pictures of the Iraqi children.

The guys said that they tried to do a good deed everyday, and they especially liked helping the Iraqi Children.

After the slide show, Joan Bloemandaal-Gruett, Billy Switzer, Bob Bjorkland and Jennie Hanson spoke and added to the thanks that others had expressed.

It’s hard for any of us who live in the Cromwell-Wright Area to even imagine what it would be like to spend time in Iraq or Saudi Arabia, but with the help of these guys, we now have a small idea of what it was like.

Before the program ended, Pastor Matt Saarem also expressed his thanks and gave a final prayer.  The program ended with the singing of “Eternal Father Strong to Save” while all the veterans in the crowd were asked to come forward so they could all be thanked for their past service to our nation.

A wonderful lunch was served by the ladies and many people stayed around to visit with each other and the returning soldiers.

So again, Seth, Trace, Trent and Robbie, Thank You and may God bless you in all your future plans.