Friday the final two demobilization ceremonies were held for troops from the 41st BCT. Each ceremony honored approximately 80 Soldiers, and each followed the same basic script. That was where the similarities ended.
The morning ceremony was held in an armory in Tigard, a suburb of Portland Metro. They may have been there, but I don't remember seeing any Welcome Home signs or balloons or other outward displays of appreciation. There were no event signs on the streets or long lines of "Patriot Rider" motorcyclists with US flags. When the announcement was made that the buses had arrived at the armory (somewhat late), I didn't see a SINGLE person get up out of their seats to go outside to watch and welcome and cheer. The 300-or-so participants were certainly happy to have their family members home, and we were happy to be part of the ceremony. Reactions to the speeches were polite, restrained. It was very good to see SFC McIntosh and his family, neighbors and friends we got to know before our ward split. The loudest applause came when the Democratic governor was introduced to give his speech. A search of the Oregon Public Broadcasting news website shows 6 separate stories detailing the latest lottery numbers, but nothing regarding the final demobilization of Oregon troops. In fact, the only story in the Oregon section over the weekend that appears to mention the military was an announcement that the Air Force will allow a large-scale wind farm to be built in Oregon.
Fast-forward to the afternoon ceremony in rural southern Oregon city of Roseburg. We were limited to only 6 band members because there were not any more seats available on the Army air transportation. We flew with the a 1-star general and several other high-ranking officers. The plane briefly landed in Salem to take on additional officers headed to the demob. While being transported to the high school we saw rows of yellow balloons and flags decorating even the back entrance where nobody would have seen them but the high school students. A huge flag was hung between the extended ladders of local fire district trucks. Our small band group was moved several times while trying to find any available space on the arena floor that would meet with the Fire Marshall's approval and meet emergency egress requirements of the expected crowd.
The arena was nearly filled to capacity as the 75 Soldiers paraded into and around the floor, and our attempts to play marches were drowned out by the continuous cheers of the crowd. There were so many "Patriot Riders" with their flags in the arena that they filled the end of the gymnasium and took up standing positions in the bleachers. THIS time, the longest and loudest applause came at the beginning of the ceremony when the announcer read the line we had heard at each ceremony: "Thank you for supporting your local heroes." The standing ovation would have continued if the announcer hadn't interrupted to ask everyone to please take their seats.
The only parts of the ceremony that I would term "subdued" were the moment of silence for the two fallen Soldiers, and the introduction of the Governor. (OK maybe "subdued" doesn't accurately describe the applause he received, except when compared to what he heard from the Portland-area group that morning.) The official party was comprised of more dignitaries than at any other ... thankfully they didn't all give a speech. When being driven back to the airport, the local radio station was playing contemporary patriotic country music like "I'm Proud to be an American" and "American Soldier."
I'm glad that there are still places in our state that continue to support the military and their local Soldiers the way we saw in Bend, Roseburg and Medford.
Welcome Home, 41st BCT.
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