Maine guardsmen welcomed home Soldiers not scheduled to re-deploy

BANGOR – The night before her father was scheduled to come home from Iraq, Allison Morris, 10, posted signs on every telephone pole on her street, welcoming him.

The posters were colored in red, white and blue marker and had messages such as “We Missed You” and “Welcome Home Sgt. Morris,” the little girl said.

The next morning, she and her mother, Alicia Morris of Mechanic Falls, waited to be reunited with Sgt. Bruce Morris, back home after serving as a mechanic in Iraq.

Morris, along with 22 other members of the 133rd Engineer Battalion, landed Friday afternoon at the Bangor Air National Guard Base and met their loved ones shortly afterward at the Armed Forces Reserve Center on Hildreth Street.

“We’re so proud of what he’s done, but we’re so glad he’s coming home,” Alicia Morris said Friday afternoon, anxiously waiting for her husband to arrive.

After marching into the drill hall of the base amid deafening cheers, Morris scooped his daughter into his arms, lifting her off her feet in a hug. He had a teddy bear for her and a yellow rose for his wife.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Morris said of his return to Maine. His battalion left for Iraq in May 2003 and spent most of its deployment at Tahlil Air Base.

The soldiers, attached to the 878 Combat Engineer Battalion, Georgia National Guard, performed numerous construction missions while in Iraq, according to Maj. Peter J. Rogers, Maine National Guard director of public affairs.

The soldiers returned to Bangor from Georgia, where they landed Monday. They are not scheduled to deploy again anytime soon, Rogers said.

Troop deployments for the war in Iraq have lasted longer than expected, but Maine National Guard units, for the most part, have stayed overseas for the standard one-year deployment, the Guard official said.

“So far, we’ve been very fortunate,” Rogers said.

Brig. Gen. John “Bill” Libby welcomed the soldiers home, where they were met by the 195th Army band playing patriotic music. They were given gift baskets filled with snacks, an Uncle Henry’s magazine, an insulated bottle holder and a picture frame with a message of thanks to each soldier.

During his speech, Libby thanked the soldiers for their work but reminded them that theirs was not the only sacrifice that had been made.

“Remember their sacrifice,” he said, pointing to the friends and family who had waited so long for the Guard members’ return.

Morris, his eyes red from tears, said he couldn’t express in words what it felt like to be home again with his family. “It’s such a thrill after not seeing them for so long,” he said.