‘The Butler community can be very proud’
From the time of George Washington, men and women have fought and died in service to the United States of America.
In that brave tradition, about 30 infantry soldiers from the county were among 100 Pennsylvania Army National Guard soldiers who left Friday, Sept. 6 for a yearlong deployment in the African nation of Djibouti.
Eagle staff writer Steve Ferris was on hand as friends and family gathered at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory in Renfrew to see off the buses carrying the soldiers to Fort Indiantown Gap in Annville. From there, the soldiers are off to Fort Bliss in Texas for a couple months of theater-specific training before deploying to Djibouti, a country in the Horn of Africa that borders the Red Sea, said Lt. Col. Gerald Mothes, the battalion commander.
The group is joining others as part of a task force of 1,000 soldiers from Pennsylvania, Illinois and Puerto Rico who are serving in Djibouti.
Their mission, Mothes said, is to protect American interests.
Knowing your friends and loved ones may be in harms way can be scary and stressful.
Gerard and Pearl Simoris, of Athens came to send off their son, Lucas Simoris, to his second deployment.
Lucas Simoris said he has served five years in the National Guard after eight years of active duty.
“It gets easier once you get an idea of how things work,” Lucas Simoris said.
He said the company has had extra drill work in addition to normal training to help prepare for the mission.
“He’s our second son in the Army. We’ve made this trip a few times,” Gerard Simoris said.
The couple said they are proud of their sons, but watching them leave for an overseas deployment is difficult.
“It doesn’t get any easier saying goodbye,” Pearl Simoris said.
We all hope one day it won’t be necessary for families to see off their loved ones for such missions. In the meantime, we wish nothing but the best to the deploying troops and their families.
Stay safe.
— RJ
