Published: December 01, 2008 08:24 pm      

McDowell encouraged to support departing troops

WELCH — Soldiers from McDowell County are preparing for an overseas deployment.

A community send-off celebration will be held Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. at the National Guard Armory in Welch for approximately 43 members of the Delta Company Detachment 4 of the 230th Support Battalion.

Residents of McDowell County are asked to tie yellow ribbons on their property, and to come to the armory Wednesday morning to give the McDowell County troops a proper send-off, Donna Pedri, president of the local Family Readiness Support Group for the Welch unit, said.

Pedri said 1st Lt. Steven Moore and Welch Mayor Martha Moore will address the troops at the community send-off celebration. The Mount View High School marching band also will perform, and a local Jr. ROTC unit from Princeton will be in attendance for the presentation of colors.

“They will be leaving Thursday where they will join up with the whole battalion,” Pedri said. “They will do another send-off ceremony Thursday in Bluefield at 6 p.m.”

Pedri said some of the troops from McDowell County will be participating in their second overseas deployment.

“Some of them have (been deployed overseas), and some of them haven’t,” she said. “I personally think it is a true honor that people from southern West Virginia get to serve, and they should be recognized for all of their hard work and dedication, and their sacrifice.”

Pedri said the soldiers who call the Welch Armory home are from communities across southern West Virginia — including McDowell County — while others come from as far away as Ohio. “I think the majority of them are from southern West Virginia,” she said.

Pedri said the McDowell County troops will be joining soldiers from Mercer County Thursday for a second send-off ceremony. Members of the 150th Armored Reconnaissance Squadron of the West Virginia Army National Guard will leave the Brushfork Armory Thursday evening for deployment in the Global War on Terrorism.

The soldiers will leave Mercer County Thursday for Fort Pickett for training that will continue until they are deployed from Fort Bragg. Soldiers from Mercer and McDowell counties were last deployed overseas in 2003 when they were sent to Iraq.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com