Farewell to the troops

Parking spaces were hard to find on the Nevada Square Tuesday afternoon as several hundred people waited in their cars and stood in the cool drizzle to show their support for members of Companies A and D of the 735th battalion who will be leaving shortly for training prior to being sent to the Middle East or have completed their training and are awaiting orders to leave for Iraq.

Nevada Daily Mail

A parade and ceremony honoring National Guard troops who've been to Iraq and those soon to follow them brought out a crowd of dedicated citizens, despite the damp, chilly rain that drizzled the area throughout the day.

The parade, which encircled the Square and ended at the City/County Community Center in Nevada, was followed by a ceremony featuring a devotional message and a proclamation presented by the Nevada City Council. Councilmember Mike Straight handed Mike Hoskins a copy of a proclamation signed by Mayor Tim Moore honoring the area National Guard members who are being activated for duty in Iraq. Hoskins, who has worked for the Nevada Park Department for a number of years, would normally be helping get the haunted house ready for Halloween and starting to work on the Christmas lighting display at Radio Springs Park, said that he could be called to leave for Iraq any day. Hoskins will be with the 735th D Company from Poplar Bluff.

Company A has also been activated, and is slated to leave Nov. 2 for Fort Riley, Kan., for training.

According to the Bible, war is sometimes the right thing to do, Wes Anderson told area National Guard troops and several hundred area residents Tuesday afternoon at a ceremony at the Nevada Vernon County Community Center.

"It's right to go to war to preserve freedom," he said.

Citizens will have another opportunity to honor troops on Nov. 1, at 11 a.m., in a ceremony in the Haidee and Allen Wild Center for the Arts.