Family, friends bid farewell to troops off to Afghanistan

By Josh Kowalkowski
Examiner Staff Writer 9/5/08

Sgt. Maj. Richard Magnum, with the Maryland National Guard, spends a few minutes with his wife, Chris, of Springfield, Va., on Thursday at Camp Fretterd Military Reservation in Reisterstown as the 18 guardsmen prepare to be deployed to Afghanistan. Arianne Starnes/Examiner REISTERSTOWN – Master Sgt. Claudell Taylor was there for his neighbor, Tony Saponaro, who battled cancer six years ago.

And now, in a way, Taylor again will help his Perryville friend by being on the battlefields of Southeastern Afghanistan as one of 18 Maryland National Guardsmen helping to train an Afghan National Army unit.

“He stuck by to support me almost every night when I had cancer,” said Saponaro, a mechanical engineer from Cecil County, who has spent 52 years working with the U.S. Army as a civil servant testing military equipment.

“They’re there to do a job now. We send them away knowing we’ve done everything we can do to protect them.”

Leida Taylor, Taylor’s wife, said, “I hope [the guardsmen] come back safe — the whole team — that’s the most important thing.”

The team of guardsmen participated in a mobilization ceremony Thursday at the Camp Fretterd Military Reservation in Reisterstown.

Maj. William Schmeling, the senior mentor of the embedded team, addressed family members of the guardsmen.

“Your willingness to serve at home gives us the ability to succeed abroad,” he said.

“I’ll do everything I can possibly do to keep them focused on the trials ahead.”

Jim Winter, of Catonsville, watched as his son, 1st Lt. Daniel Winter, 23, was among the ones being deployed to Fort Riley in Kansas for training and then to Afghanistan for 10 months.

“We have faith in the job they’ll be doing and that they’re doing the right thing,” said the elder Winter.

Schmeling’s wife Jill said she knows the reason for the deployment, seven years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“I hear so many people ask why we’re over there or say we’re just there to clean up the mess — but that’s just not right,” the Middletown, Del., resident said.

“We’re there to keep us safe. They attacked us.”

Schmeling’s daughter, Hannah, 9, also looked at the situation positively.

“I think it’s very sad, but at the same time I’m happy,” she said.

“It’s a proud feeling knowing that a lot of other families are going through this and supporting them.”

jkowalkowski@baltimoreexaminer.com

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