Deployed Guardsman misses talking with WWII Veteran grandfather during holidays

By Matthew J. Wilson
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

Editor's note: An 11-member section of the Missouri National Guard's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 135th Theater Aviation Battalion, of Lebanon, is more than halfway through its one-year deployment to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn.

Its mission is to provide command and control, supervision, staff planning and unit level personnel service and logistical support for all units that belong to or are attached to the theater aviation battalion.

As part of its 24-hour-a-day mission, the unit performs command and control for 11 C-23 Sherpas, four C-12 Hurons and one UC-35 Cessna Citation. Through the use of these fixed-wing aircraft, the unit will provide a forward deployed aviation battalion, which provides air movement of cargo, personnel, and military/civilian dignitaries from the United States, NATO, and Iraq, throughout Iraq and the Central Command Area.

These Guardsmen also are responsible for the flight following air tasking orders, mission scheduling, and diplomatic flight clearances for all aircraft assigned to the battalion.

So far, the unit has planned and supported more than 1,400 missions, which have transported about 1.2 million pounds of cargo and more than 9,000 passengers over the course of more than 5,000 flight hours.

The following is a look into the deployment experience during the holidays of one of the unit's members.

BALAD, IRAQ - Being away from Family during the holidays is challenging for all Missouri National Guardsmen who are deployed.

But for the most part, Spc. Chris Herriman, who lives in Columbia, says being deployed isn't so bad.

"It's true you sacrifice a year of your life, but you gain so many lifelong friends and experiences that you could never get at home," he said. "It is not such a terrible thing.

"I enjoy being part of a team and am very proud to wear a uniform and represent the U.S."

Don't get Herriman wrong, he'd prefer to be home for the holidays.

"I'll spend the holidays working and trying not to think about what I'm missing," said Herriman, a 2003 graduate of Eldon High School. "I'll miss visiting with all my cousins and seeing how fast their kids have grown.

"I'll miss sitting around the table, bouncing ideas off of my grandfather. He was with Patton's 3rd Armored Division during World War II."

Herriman's grandfather, Jim Dowling, who lives in Hanover Park, Ill., served with Gen. George S. Patton during the Battle of the Bulge.

At the top of Herriman's Christmas wish list is a taste of home in the form of a "World Famous" chili cheese dog from Cree Mee, in Eldon, and a Diet Mountain Dew.

Herriman would also like to get back to Missouri again to experience all the little things most Americans take for granted.

"I miss the smell of the water, trees, grass and dirt," Herriman said. "I miss walking my dog, Frank, early in the morning."

For Herriman, the deployment so far has been what he expected.

"The country is a tough one to try to settle," he said. "I have always heard that we don't realize how good we have it. I now see why people say that."

Herriman is supported in his military career by his parents, Jim and Clare Herriman, of Eldon; sister, Amanda Herriman, of Eldon; his fiancée, Anne Rogers; and his fiancée's parents, Roy and Karen Rogers, all of Columbia; his grandparents, Jim and Margaret Dowling; his aunts, Margaret Roberts, of Streamwood, Ill., and Patricia Michelson, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and an uncle and aunt, Kevin and Bonnie Ahrens, of Martinsburg.

When Herriman returns home from deployment, he wants to return to his "parents' lake place" and spend time with Family and friends on the water.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.