Return of the 277th Maintenace Company in Kennesaw, Georgia!
Georgia Army National Guard 1st Lt. Greg Worden, a platoon leader with Kennesaw's 277th Maintenance Company, is welcomed home, Sunday, April 25, 2004, by his son Austin and wife Doreen. Worden and his fellow Soldiers have been back for a little more than a week after spending 14 months in Kuwait supporting coalition troops and Operation Iraqi Freedom. ( Georgia National Guard photo by Sgt. Roy Henry)
Once A Soldier, Always A Soldier
Story by Sgt. Roy Henry
Georgia National Guard
Public Affairs Office
The motorcycle escort that brought home Kennesaw’s 277th Maintenance Company was put together by retired Georgia Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Rick Young. Young, an independent biker and a former Army administrative specialist, spent 12 years with the 277th after having served nine years as an active duty Soldier.
“Once a Soldier, always a Soldier, and I wanted to do something for my fellow Guardsmen to show them how proud I am of them,” he said while motorcycle engines rumbled and roared behind him in the 277th motor pool. “I thought there couldn’t be anything better that getting together guys like me, who ride and had served their country, and escorting the unit to the armory.”
It would be three days before he would know just when 277th would be coming home. When he did get the word, he went to work contacting individual bikers and whole clubs to find out if they wanted to participate. Young said he put out flyers, sent e-mails, and made telephone calls to anyone he thought who might want to participate. Many of those who escorted the unit joined the ride as the 277th headed down the highway. The majority of them were military veterans of one branch of service or another.
“As you can see,” he said, waving his right arm behind him, “the response was enormous.”
Young and his fellow bikers met the 277th’s buses Sunday morning as they passed through Newnan on their way to Atlanta. From there, 200 fell in behind the convoy while the rest pulled in between the first bus and the Georgia State Patrol escort, he said.
“My goal when I started this thing was to have about 150 riders, one for each Soldier, but the response I got went way beyond that,” Young said. “Not one rider who said he’d show up cancelled out, which says a lot about the guys and the clubs think of our Soldiers.”
As the soldiers came home they were met be several motorcyles to bring them on in. Here are a few of the pictures taken that day.
This photo was taken as the motorcyles and troops were pulling into the Armory parking lot to met their families that were awaiting their return.
As the buses pull in the lower pariking lot of the 277th Maintenance Company, the troops are welcomed with over 100 motorcyles and supporting fans.