Welcome Home to the 152nd Maintenance Company of the Maine National Guard!
April 13, 2006
I was at the Augusta Armory Thursday morning, in the crowd welcoming home the Guard unit, returning after a year in Iraq. It was a wonderful, happy and emotional event for the hundreds of family and friends who turned out to greet them.

I was glad to see them and proud of their service. They did their duty, what they had been asked to do in service to their country. And now they were home.

And I suddenly found myself back in time nearly 40 years ago, when, as the young bride of a Navy Seabee, I was twice in such a crowd, waiting for the unit fresh back from Vietnam to be dismissed from their formation, waiting for my then-husband to break ranks and wade into my open arms.

I'm glad the 152nd is home. I want to bring them all home. It's time.