Warren County shines light on 278th

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard

Joshua Argo, 4, holds a candle for his father at the ceremony. He is the son of Donna and Sgt. Ronnie Argo, who is part of the 278th deployment. (Charles W. Johnson photo)

The National Guard Armory was illuminated with a special light New Year’s Eve as more than 300 family and friends gathered to show their support for members of the 278th Regimental Combat Team currently deployed in Iraq.

The group lit candles representing the hopes and prayers for the safety of loved ones serving overseas.

The ceremony also featured speeches from local officials, including McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport, Iraq veteran Staff Sgt. David Smith, along with poignant and heartfelt comments from local clergy and soldiers’ wives.

Davenport was impressed with the support shown by Warren countians.

“I think the turnout encourages the families and supports them here,” Davenport said.

Davenport, a Vietnam veteran, noted the reaction was far different in that war.

“Having experience in Vietnam, when you returned home it was recommended to you that you don’t wear your uniform in public,” Davenport recalled. “Can you imagine that? Having served your country in combat for a year and being told to act like you didn’t have anything to do with it.”

Davenport said the ceremony was sending another message entirely, and he was proud to be a part of it.

“I think we’re trying to make clear that isn’t the case anymore, and we’re going to tell that to the people that are serving our country, serving our community. Whether you politically support our country’s direction or not, these are the people who are putting their lives on the line, to say we will support what our country does and that’s why we need to support them. They need to know that we recognize and appreciate what they’re doing.”

Staff Sgt. David Smith agreed.

“This means so much,” Smith said. “Being a soldier we know we have to go over to Iraq and Afghanistan to do a job, but our families are unfortunately stuck back here in the states, and by the community coming together like this, it helps them to cope with depression and being away from their husbands and their sons. It’s awesome, and it helps that the community shows their support which helps the soldiers have a better deployment also.”

Local veteran Col. Thomas Vaughn was also impressed with the turnout.

“It means a great deal,” Vaughn said, “because it shows that the community is behind them 110 percent. They need to know that. Staff Sgt. Smith and others were talking about the importance of community support. It’s just essential. You know, we send our soldiers off to war, but without public support their morale is going to nosedive. And these soldiers from the 278th know that they’ve got the community’s support, and that we’re going to stick by them through thick and thin. It’s really important to their morale and their esprit de corp. They don’t need to be over there thinking that we’ve forgotten them, and we should never forget them.”