Musings of the Chronologically Challenged™ Fourth Generation

 
WELCOME HOME, HEROES!

Highway 24, between Morehead City (port) and Camp LeJeune, was renamed Freedom Way in conjunction with Desert Storm. In the median between the four traffic lanes there are 241 Bradford pear trees planted along a few miles of Freedom Way, reminiscent of Burma Shave signs. These are very pretty flowering trees, indigenous to the Southeast, which herald early Spring with lovely white blossoms. Freedom Way continues to the Beirut Memorial. The 241 trees represent the 241 Marines who were murdered in their sleep by the "peaceful" Islamists who drove a suicide truck of explosives into their barracks.

Those of us who live along Freedom Way are currently preparing for the busses that will be bringing home our warriors from Iraq. On the marquee of a Great Western hotel near my home: "Welcome Military and Families." Finishing touches along Freedom Way have been popping up for days. The locally famous "Sheet Fence" (link and scroll to Welcome Home)
is ready to welcome returnees. And I'm sure the Town of Swansboro is also prepared. Swansboro is the last little town on the bus route before arriving at Camp LeJeune. That's where the busses are somehow slowed down enough for the townspeople to hand pizza and beer into the windows to the happy returnees.

There's just about enough time to finish off the pizza and beer before the bus gets to the first of the Bradford pear trees. Those trees are a sober reminder to our guys and gals of why they were deployed. Later that night, they will not be so sober! Jacksonville will be the party place of the East Coast! A Marine can work up a great thirst during a year in Iraq!

A grateful civilian populace says Welcome Home, Marines and Sailors! We thank you and love you! Semper Fi!!
posted by HCL at 6:16 PM