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| The
audience gave the RED HORSE Squadron a standing ovation as they
entered the auditorium. |
Family members, local community leaders, and area residents all came out on August 18, 2005 to welcome home the Air National Guard 200th RED HORSE Squadron who deployed for Iraq in early January of this year. The entire Squadron made it home safely after months of providing engineering and construction support for the U.S. forces and their allies in Iraq.
The 200th Red Horse Squadron is based at Camp Perry, home of the Civilian
Marksmanship Program and National Matches.
To welcome the Squadron home, a ceremony was held in the auditorium of Port Clinton High School followed by a parade through the town. All of these festivities were organized by a group of caring residents, the 200th RED HORSE Family Readiness Homecoming Committee. Major Todd Audet led the opening remarks for the Welcome Home Ceremony; which included Major General A. J. Feucht, and several guest speakers representing various government offices. Many of these speakers presented Squadron Commander Col. H. Dewey Perkins with American flags and certificates of appreciation for the 200th Red Horse.
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| Air National Guard 200th RED HORSE Squadron
made it home safely after months of providing engineering and construction support for the U.S. forces and their allies in Iraq. |
Col. Perkins went on to thank his Squadron who endured through the unique challenges they faced in the rain, mud, heat, and hostile environment of Iraq. Despite it all, they were able to successfully complete their mission and return home safely. The 200th RED HORSE performed so well that they were recognized for raising the bar by which all RED HORSE Squadrons would be measured. The Squadron is a self-supported heavy construction unit whose duties include designing, surveying, logistics planning and construction for projects that provide support to troops such as roads and runways.
9-year-old Zack Auxter from Jefferson Elementary School captured the attention of the audience when he read his poem “What Old Glory Means to Me.” Auxter’s poem won top recognition in a National Competition sponsored by the Elks organization. Another defining moment of the ceremony came when three of the Squadrons members were presented with purple hearts for injuries they sustained while on duty in Iraq.
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| The
200th RED HORSE Squadron Purple Heart recipients AIC Josh Rohrbacker,
SSgt Duane Collins and TSgt Charles Higer are greeted with a standing
ovation from the packed house at P.C.H.S. |
A1C Josh Rohrbacher, SSgt Duane Collins, and TSgt Charles Higer took the stage to receive their purple hearts and were met by a standing ovation from the audience. The Purple Heart is the oldest military decoration in the world in present use, and was the first U. S. military award made available to the common solider. General George Washington created and awarded the first Purple Hearts in 1782, though the records and the Purple Heart Decoration itself were lost to time until they was rediscovered in 1932 by the U. S. War Department. At that time the use of the Purple Heart was reinstated. The decoration is awarded to members of the U. S. armed forces who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy, or posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration. For more information on the Purple Heart visit http://www.purpleheart.org.
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| 200th
RED HORSE make their way to Veteran's Park in the Heroes Homecoming Parade. |
After the Welcome Home Ceremony concluded, the Squadron moved outside to participate in a parade held in their honor. The 200th RED HORSE marched from Port Clinton High School to Veteran’s Park followed by numerous organizations showing their support, as crowds cheered them on from the side walk. The Purple Heart recipients were escorted in a white horse drawn carriage provided by Roger Lewis. After the parade the Moose/VFW Community Red Horse Celebration Dinner was provided at the Port Clinton Moose Lodge for the soldiers, their families, and supporters.
For more information on the 200th RED HORSE Squadron visit: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/usaf/200rh.htm. For pictures from the Welcome Home Ceremony and the parade
visit http://www.odcmp.com/Photos/05/RedHorse/index.htm.
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