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By Rose Hooper
and Carey Phillips
A dying father and a 22-month-old child brought two local members
of the 210th National Guard home from Baghdad, Iraq, for two weeks.
Staff Sgt. Steve Lillard came home to share his father, Robert
Lillard's, last days. The elder Lillard died Nov. 14, and his
son was able to stay through the funeral.
Pfc. Melissa Townsend, a single mom who left behind a 22-month-old
son, was allowed to come home for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Both Lillard and Townsend, now back in Iraq, said what they think
about and miss the most over there is family.
"They draw names out of a hat to choose who gets to come
home for two weeks," said Townsend. "I think being a
single mom had something to do with my being chosen."
Lillard, who knew his father was dying of mouth cancer, was able
to say his "good-byes" in person rather than by a long-distance
phone call.
The senior Lillard wanted everyone around him to know just how
proud he was of his son serving in Baghdad.
"One thing about us Lillard men - we don't back off from
a fight," the late Robert Lillard said just days before he
died. "We are proud to defend America."
The 73-year-old Lillard, a former U.S. Marine and veteran of the
Korean War, was one of the few survivors of the Battle of the
Chosin Reservoir.
Now the younger Lillard, a military policeman, assists the Iraqi
police with their military patrols.
Life in Baghdad is a "different environment, different culture,"
but Lillard and Townsend said they've learned to adapt pretty
well.
"We constantly hear gunfire and mortars, but we've learned
to just block it out and go on with our routine," said Townsend.
Routine for her lately has been pulling gate guard and helping
with the cooking. "Basically, I've been sticking close to
the compound," said this PFC, who had been working with the
"IP," what members of the 210th call the Iraqi police.
For Lillard, the routine consists of 8-12 hour patrol shifts with
the IP, sometimes days, sometimes nights, in an area divided into
three sectors, each about the size of Sylva.
"We don't train the Iraqi - they've gone to the police academy
- we just monitor their progress," Lillard said. "Most
of them are very eager to learn; we communicate through translators."
"Our translators are very good; we couldn't do our job without
them," Townsend said.
"Make no mistake, the men and women of the 210th MP Company
are facing danger every day, for Baghdad is surely the most dangerous
city in the world right now for a military policeman. For my soldiers,
the city of Baghdad has become a city of fear and betrayal as
we grasp to understand why the very people we wish to help would
try to kill us," said the 210th's commander T.W. Lewis III
in an e-mail to the Herald.
"The problem is you just don't know who the enemy is,"
said Townsend. "We ride on the roads right next to civilian
Iraqis and we know we could be killed at any point."
The month of August was extremely difficult for the company, Commander
Lewis said.
"We suffered our only casualty thus far when Staff Sgt. Bobby
Franklin was killed while patrolling the streets of Baghdad. An
improvised explosive device that detonated as his patrol passed
by killed Bobby and wounded two other soldiers. His death - the
first death of a 1st Armored Division soldier in the Baghdad Theatre
- devastated us."
Franklin's death was stressful, whether you were close to him
or not, said Townsend.
"It hits you like a big slap in the face that you might not
come home," she said.
"I think President Bush's surprise Thanksgiving visit to
the troops in Baghdad was a big morale booster," she said.
From magazine articles and newspapers Lewis said he realizes there
is a great debate back home as to whether or not their endeavor
in Iraq is justified.
"Many of us often ask 'why are we here?' For a soldier and
an officer the reason is inconsequential as my job is to follow
orders and to execute. However, the frustration is there among
my soldiers as the days become shorter and we enter our eighth
month of active duty," he said.
A year is a very long time to spend anywhere away from family,
members of the 210th and their families agree. Especially when
the time is spent in such a dangerous place.
"This deployment will have a lasting impact on the unit and
the soldiers. Many of my troops that own their own business will
not recover from their absence. They will be forced to start over
again and the time we have lost with our loved ones will never
be replaced," Lewis said.
For Lillard, operations captain for the Jackson County Sheriff's
Office, this is not a problem. According to county policy, the
sheriff's office pays the difference between his National Guard
salary and his regular paycheck while he is deployed.
"It seems like a lot of people in Iraq are working because
a lot of rebuilding is going on," said Lillard.
"I think the economy is finally taking off," said Townsend.
"The kids are back in school and hospitals are up and running."
The 210th, attached to the 1st Army, 2nd Brigade, is housed with
the 40th Engineers, active duty Army out of Baumholder, Germany.
"It's a really large compound," Lillard said of the
building that used to be office spaces before it was bombed.
Just recently an Internet Cafe was installed in their compound
and now they have easier access to e-mail, Townsend said.
The government has contracted with an Indian firm to cater their
food, which both Townsend and Lillard describe as "OK, but
nothing special."
"I finally had my fill of sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving;
I'd been craving them so long," said Townsend.
The biggest adjustment for the 210th, both agree, is the weather.
When they arrived in Kuwait City it was 151 degrees.
"It was just so hot, you were completely drained," said
Townsend. "But we finally got used to it and now it's even
cooling off . . . days are around 80 degrees and nights down to
40 degrees."
"Whatever the odds, we just have to stay focused and think
about the job we are there to do," said Lillard, who joined
the guard in 1997.
"Henry David Thoreau once said that heroes are often the
most ordinary of men. I believe this to be the case as I have
witnessed it firsthand in the actions of these soldiers,"
said the commander.
"I am constantly amazed by the commitment and courage that
these men and women display. These are your neighbors. The very
same who police your streets, that work beside you in the mill,
respond to your emergencies and teach your children are now carrying
a weapon and standing a post in the most dangerous city in the
world.
"These men and women truly make our state and country great.
Those who support us have shared in our triumphs and our tragedies.
We are truly blessed by the support that we have back home and
we anxiously await our reunion,"he said.
Meanwhile, the 210th will continue and carry on, he said, because
"we have been through so much already that we cannot yield
as it is not in our nature."
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