By Duane Winn
Several sirens blared, a thousand or more yellow ribbons stood at attention, and hundreds of folks lined the streets of Pipestone Monday afternoon to welcome local Minnesota National Guardsmen returning home.
Local soldiers left family, school and jobs in October 2005 to prepare for a mission to Iraq. After six months of training, they embarked for their tour of duty.
They arrived stateside earlier this month to undergo complete medical check-ups and formal military demobilization to prepare them for their return home to civilian life.
Guardsmen stopped in Fairmont Monday to meet with loved ones before they traveled to their respective hometown communities for celebrations.
Troops with local ties hooked up with firemen, the sheriff’s department, ambulance personnel and community members in the Suzlon Rotor Corp. parking lot in preparation for a heroes’ welcome. The troops received a handshake and a heartfelt “thank you” from many community members as they made the final leg of their trip.
After months of hard living in combat situations, local troops were ready for a few simple pleasures.
“I heard a couple of them were on the way to the Red Lobster in Sioux Falls,” said Sergeant First Class Robert Newman, a fulltime employee at the Pipestone National Armory.
Guardsman Brian Douty, of Pipestone, said it was a relief to be home for good.
“It’s going to be a lot less stress for everybody,” he said.
He is one of three sons of Bob and Meiko Douty (Joseph and Jeffrey are the others) to return home safely from Iraq. Bob Douty is a retired major for the Minnesota National Guard.
A citywide celebration is slated for the returnees at 1 p.m. on Aug. 19 on the county courthouse lawn. The celebration is being spearheaded by the American Legion, the VFW and community members at-large.
Until community members can show their appreciation in person, they did themselves proud with a noteworthy display of patriotism.
More than 1,000 yellow ribbons, a project of the combined forces of the Pipestone Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion and the VFW lined city streets and Highway 75 leading into town. Dan’s Signs donated two welcome banners to show its appreciation of the sacrifices local troops made.
The yellow ribbon campaign was financed by community members who dropped in a buck or two at several collection points in town. Some of the leftover funds will be used for the upcoming celebration. The remainder, said Mick Myers of the Pipestone Chamber of Commerce, will be earmarked for the Family Readiness Group.
“It was nice that everybody and everything came together to thank these guys for what they did,” said Myers. “You read something every day in the newspapers about some kid getting a bad deal over there and it’s amazing that these kids made it home safe and sound.”
Myers added that it was likely the most raucous celebration the community has witnessed for some time.
“Several downtown business owners remarked that they couldn’t believe how the sound reverberated when the (parade) passed their stores,” said Myers.
