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MILITARY MUSIC —Military Band members provided music for yesterday’s
deployment service held at the National Guard Armory. (SOMcL photo)
An overflow crowd packed the National Guard Armory on Hamilton
Boulevard yesterday morning as family, friends, veterans and supporters
came to show their support for members of Company A 429th battalion of
the Virginia Army National Guard who leave this morning for federal
deployment to combat.
Flags waved from every utility pole in the Town as the troops were
recognized for their sacrifice in leaving family, homes, friends and
jobs to carry out their mission.
“Words cannot demonstrate our appreciation for the sacrifice you are
making,” said South Boston Mayor Carroll Thackston, a former adjutant
general of the Virginia National Guard. “You represent the very best,”
Thackston said. “Take care of yourself and your fellow members and come
back safely to us.”
This morning the 100 member group will leave for Camp Atterbury,
Indiana where they will prepare for their upcoming overseas deployment.
Led by a police escort and motorcycle riders, they will swing through
Halifax County Middle School and then Halifax County High School where
students will be standing with waving flags to show their support.
From there they will travel down Main Street in South Boston to
Constitution Square where residents are expected to line the street in
waving a fond farewell to the battalion members.
Yesterday’s ceremony included remarks from Delegate Clarke Hogan, who
expressed his thanks for members’ service, as well as his looking
forward to their safe return.
Several unit members spoke of the history of the battalion, pointing to
its beginnings as far back as 1919 and to the fact that the South
Boston unit had been the first to land on the beaches of Normandy in
World War II. Several local veterans of that battle were on hand
yesterday for the ceremony, as were several Vietnam veterans.
Among those leaving was Staff Sgt. Flippen, who admitted that while he
was “a little anxious and nervous, he was looking forward to doing what
I am trained to do. I just want to get my men back here safely,” he
responded. Another member of the group, Aaron Britton, who has served
as a deputy sheriff here in Halifax County, responded to questions,
saying “we’ll be back here safe and sound in another 397 days.”
There were also some female members of the group – six or seven, said
Private First Class Rebecca Marlowe of Richmond, who said she was going
to miss her husband terribly, but was looking to get the job done.
One of the officers said that South Boston had shown the largest
turnout he had seen in deployments and thanked the crowd for their
support. “We are pledging to our members that they will get the best
training and equipment possible to carry out their job, and we will
take care of their families so they don’t have to worry while they
undertake their jobs,” he said.
Following the ceremony, members and their families were treated to a
luncheon at the Armory.