The 389th Engineer Battalion is an Iowa-based unit of the U.S.
Army Reserve 89th
Regional Support Command. Part of the 389th is based in
Middletown, a small town just west of my hometown of Burlington,
Iowa. The 389th recently was called up.
On Tuesday evening, a Troop Send-Off Rally was held for the
389th at the basketball arena at the community college in
Burlington. I attended after receiving an email asking me to come
and lend support. Rumors were flying that anti-war protesters would
show up. Fortunately, none did. The evening was somber enough.
By rough count there were more than 100 soldiers at the rally.
Most of them young men, a few women, many of them married. They and
their anxious relatives packed the bleachers in the arena. Being
there brought into sharp relief the true price of the coming war:
so many upstanding young men and women ready to serve in a foreign
land, with the inevitable result that at least a few of them won’t
be coming back.
One moment I found remarkable occurred when the chaplain,
Minister Upchurch, spoke to the troops about the anti-war
demonstrators. He urged them to not worry about any protesters’
condemnations, and then proceeded to quote passages from the Bible
showing that a soldier’s duty is noble. I couldn’t help but think
how far political discourse (“baby-killer”) and just plain respect
— pictures of President Bush as Hitler — have fallen in this
country that a minister has to reassure our young men and women
that they are doing good work.
Major General Michael Symansky, who heads the 89th, made the
rally all the more poignant. During his talk, he asked how many
soldiers had children under one-year old. Eight soldiers stood up.
Eight children who may not know their fathers. Let’s pray that
doesn’t happen.
Maj. Gen. Symansky ended his talk by giving each soldier a
commander’s coin, a specially minted collectible given as a token
of honor. Maj. Gen. Symansky instructed the soldiers to give the
coin to a family member, and said that the family member could
return it to the solider if he or she performed well in Iraq. Let’s
pray that every family member with a coin has that chance.
The only slight bit of relief felt that night was the knowledge
that the 389th will be involved in humanitarian missions and
infrastructure building in Iraq. It is unlikely they will see
combat. Yet it was impossible to let this interrupt a sense of
foreboding. It is still a dangerous area of the world, and falling
victim to a suicide bomber is a real possibility. And seeing the
brave young men and women in the 389th only reminded me of the
brave young men and women who are on the front lines.
Feeling depressed upon arriving home, I called a friend who
usually cheers me up. It was a mistake: He’s a college professor
who has seen ten of his student-reservists called up. During our
conversation, I remarked that I had the odd feeling of strongly
supporting something that I hate so much at the same time. Saddam
must go if the U.S. is to win the War on Terrorism. But that means
the awful business of putting our young men and women in harm’s
way.
I took a tiny bit of solace in the reports Wednesday morning
that many Iraqi soldiers, including some in the Republican Guard,
are deserting. That could mean that the war in Iraq will be very
quick with minimal casualties. Let’s pray that it is.
Godspeed to the 389th and all the soldiers heading to Iraq.
