A Farewell For Arms
By Kelly Jasper
HARRISONBURG — It doesn’t look like much, the little plastic piece in Barbara Dixon’s hand.
A metal chain floats the token at the center of her chest, near her heart. Her fingers reach for it now and then, especially when she talks about her son.
She’s been driving Greg to National Guard duty ever since he signed up as a high school student in Ashburn. He’s 20 now, but she still wanted to be here for him as he left for his first tour of duty in Iraq.
He, and dozens of Valley soldiers, left for deployment Monday after a send-off celebration from Harrisonburg’s armory, the home of Company A, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Brigade, 29th Division.
The soldiers have a long journey ahead. They traveled to Charlottesville Monday to meet up with other companies. Then, it’s on to Camp Shelby in Mississippi and, finally, to Iraq.
They’ll travel nearly 8,000 miles over the coming weeks.
Like “a gypsy,” Dixon says, she wishes she could follow him. Greg will be gone for 13 months.
“It’s a long time not to see him but he knows, more than anything, I’m proud of him,” Dixon says, still clutching her token. It’s a plastic, white copy of a dog tag that’s given to family and friends of soldiers.
She only let go to envelop Greg in a hug.
“I’m going to wear this,” she says, taking the dog tag back into her hand, “until he comes home.”
Posted: July 3rd, 2007 under work.
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