Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Alpha Co. given warm sendoff with rally

Yellow ribbons decorated the front of the Nevada County Courthouse, as friends and family gathered to show their appreciation to members of Alpha Co. 153rd.

Members of the Arkansas National Guard are being shipped to Fort Hood, Texas for final preparation before being sent to Iraq, where their tour of duty will be 12-18 months. They were recognized with a yellow ribbon ceremony Wednesday, Oct. 22, as friends and family members went to the courthouse to show their appreciation for the job the soldiers are being sent to do.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor kicked things off saying Prescott and Nevada County formally expressed its best wishes on the assignment.

"We would like to hear from you from time to time," he said, asking someone make sure the local paper received updates on how the 153rd was doing in Iraq. By doing this, he added, the folks back home would better be able to understand what they soldiers are doing in a foreign land.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, spoke in place of Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown whose son is in the unit and will be going to Iraq.

"In the course of history," Chadwell said, "it is rare for people to fight for their own freedom, and even more rate to fight for someone else's. Since 1956, the United States is the only nation to do this to insure the freedom of the world's citizens.

"America alone recognizes and accepts this. Our young men and women take up the tradition no other nation will do."

Chadwell said everyone has seen news accounts of what's going on in Iraq and the detractors in the U.S. who don't respect what the military is doing there. "For every one person who doesn't respect what you're doing, there are 1,000 more who respect every minute you spend there. We'll keep you and your families in our prayers and take care of your families while you're away."

Angela Hopkins, president of the Family Readiness Group, said the group's mission is to support the soldiers and the family members of those in Alpha Co., as this is meaningful to the men and their families.

Capt. Rick Pettigrew drew thunderous applause when he said it was an honor for the men to be the first soldiers in Arkansas and America to represent the city and people of Prescott.

"During the last three weeks," he said, "we've stepped up training to excel the company to a level no on in the state thought possible.

"Not a day has gone by we haven't got help. You have met the call every day."

Pettigrew said the people of Prescott deserved the highest honor the Army could bestow  the Loyalty Medal. However, he said, the Army's definition of loyalty fell short of what he thought Prescott deserved, and went to Webster's dictionary. It, alone, also fell short. But, he continued, when the two definitions were put together, they came close to representing the people of Prescott.

"When the alert first came out after Sept. 11," he said, "we tried to understand why we would go to another country to defend freedom."

Pettigrew chose the words of George Washington to express the reason for going to Iraq. Those words said men fail if they don't fight for what is right, especially if the fight can be won without bloodshed. "There comes a time when the odds will be against you, and there will be little chance of survival and no hope. It's better to perish than live as slaves," Washington said.

"This sums up why we're going to Iraq," Pettigrew said.

Capt. Pettigrew has deployed to foreign nations on two previous occasions, once to Kuwait and once to Bosnia. Those, though, were peacetime missions, while the Iraqi mission isn't.

"Alpha Co. soldiers are the best company I've had the opportunity to serve with," he said. "My heart goes out and hat goes off to Prescott for the appreciation the community has shown to the soldiers and their families at this time."

Joe Graham, president of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce, said the yellow ribbons will be serving as reminders of the soldiers overseas, and will remain until every one is back home and safe.

Soldiers and their families were asked to take a ribbon home and display it, while Capt. Pettigrew tied a ribbon on the rail of the courthouse steps. This ribbon will remain there until the men return from Iraq.

Following the yellow ribbon ceremony, the men marched back to the Tom B. Lee Armory where they were treated to an early Thanksgiving dinner, compliments of former State Rep. Sandra Rodgers.

The soldiers and their families were treated to a meal of ham, chicken, dressing, corn, green beans and dessert.