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Soldiers to visit backers
Thursday, February 5, 2009
By: Cindy Schroeder - NYK
A delegation of Fort Campbell soldiers will visit four Kenton County cities this weekend as part of a homecoming celebration that's been a year in the making.
Through the Adopt-A-Unit program, the cities of Crescent Springs, Lakeside Park, Taylor Mill and Villa Hills each adopted a different battery of the 1st Battalion 320th Field Artillery Regiment. The troops are part of the 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell.
During the past year, the four communities raised $16,000 to host a homecoming ball for the soldiers, who recently returned from their third tour of duty in Iraq. That ball will be Feb. 27 at Fort Campbell.
This week, 36 troops, including several wives, will visit Northern Kentucky to thank the hosts of the homecoming celebration. Local residents and students also supported the soldiers during their 14-month deployment with shipments of homemade neck coolers, care packages, Halloween candy, Valentine cards and cases of Girl Scout cookies.
Because many of the troops are expected to face a fourth deployment in the fall, fundraising for neck coolers and under-armor shirts continues, largely through the sales of Top Gun cookbooks at Kremer's Market, Crestville Drugs, Karen's Consignments and the Bank of Kentucky in Crescent Springs, Illusions Hair Salon in Erlanger and the Crescent Springs and Villa Hills city buildings. Supporters also raised money through everything from bake sales and flea markets to dances and collections at traffic intersections.
"We're all real excited about (the homecoming celebration)," said Capt. Drew Martin, who, as the personnel officer, is part of the headquarters battery based at Fort Campbell. "It's a chance to see where these cities are and meet these volunteers and mayors of the cities that supported us."
For months, Martin has been communicating with Edgewood resident Julie Schuler - one of the driving forces behind the local Adopt-A-Unit program - through phone calls and e-mails.
"Now I finally get to put a face to the name," he said.
Friday, the adopted troops will visit classrooms at Villa Madonna Academy and River Ridge Elementary School in Villa Hills, Hinsdale Elementary and Turkey Foot Middle School in Edgewood, St. Anthony Elementary and Woodland Middle School in Taylor Mill and attend an assembly at St. Joseph School in Crescent Springs to thank the pupils who supported them.
The soldiers will attend a dinner in their honor at the Summit Hills Country Club in Crestview Hills on Friday, and they'll be recognized at a ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Kenton County Veterans Memorial at Buttermilk Pike and Collins Road in Crescent Springs.
Barleycorns Restaurant in Lakeside Park also is hosting a reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday for the HHB battery of the 1-320th Field Artillery Regiment of the 101st Airborne in Fort Campbell. The public is invited to stop by and show its appreciation.
"It just makes me feel good to know that we're taking care of our soldiers," event organizer Jane Terrell of Villa Hills said. "I was a teenager during the Vietnam War, and I know how those soldiers were treated when they came home. We want to make sure that regardless of how people feel, that the soldiers are treated with respect."
Feb. 27, about 1,000 people are expected to attend the homecoming ball in Hopkinsville for the 425 members of the four batteries. Between 60 and 75 Northern Kentucky residents are expected to attend the black-tie event; invited guests include Congressman Geoff Davis, Gov. Steve Beshear, U.S. Sens. Jim Bunning and Mitch McConnell and state Sens. Damon Thayer and Jack Westwood.
During the ball, mayors from the four communities will present each of the servicemen and women a commemorative coin.
"The soldiers can't wait," Schuler said. "They're just so excited at meeting all the people who supported them while they were in Iraq."
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