Parents appreciated welcome given to soldiers
Bruce and Bobbie Cusker sent a letter to the editor last week regarding the homecoming the Flathead Valley and the city of Kalispell gave the 639th Quartermaster Company on its return March 3.
"Wow! Flags were waving, horns were blaring and patriotic citizens young and old were cheering the returning soldiers," they wrote. "It was a time of pride and joy."
The Cuskers are the parents of the 639th commander, 1st Lt. Chris Cusker. When not on active duty, Cusker is a special education teacher with School District 5 and lives with his wife, Sue, and their son Cody in Somers.
His family was there to greet him and the other 116 men and women from across Montana when their plane touched down under an arc of water and rainbow formed by the spray of twin fire engines at Edwards Jet Center.
The Cuskers also were able to ride with their son in the parade as it wound through town. At one point an elderly woman reached into the open car window and through her tears expressed her gratitude to the soldiers of the 639th, charged with supplying fuel, purified water along with other support, that had spent the last 15 months away from home, first at Fort Carson, Colo., and then a year deployed to Tallil, Iraq.
"It is a day that no one in our family will ever forget," says Bobbie. "We were overwhelmed by the community's support." They thank Mayor Pam Kennedy for her warm welcoming address at the fairgrounds, and the Kalispell businesses and the people of Western Montana for their care for its citizen soldiers and for what was a truly memorable reunion.
They also gave kudos to Inter Lake reporter Candace Chase and photographer Chris Jordan for capturing the emotional spirit of the day in their story that appeared on the front page the next day.
In closing the Cuskers wrote, "The warmhearted and sincere tribute expressed that day was another stirring example of what makes America the greatest nation in the world."
Carol and Harley Eads would like to thank Tony, a check-out person at Costco, for the kindness he showed them recently. The couple moved to Lewistown from Kalispell last fall but were back in town briefly last month on business.
While here they stopped at Costco to pick up some supplies for their son. Russ Eads is a first lieutenant with the California National Guard currently stationed in Iraq.
At check-out they mentioned that the bags of trail mix were to send to their son overseas.
The checker, Tony, said to tell their son thanks for his service and hello from back home. He then insisted on paying for the trail mix, and according to store policy called a supervisor over to witness as he pulled the money out of his wallet.
"We we were just so amazed that he did that," says Harley, "It touched us both so deeply; what a thoughtful, generous thing to do."
Tony told them that he had also served in the military and has empathy for the soldiers that are deployed.
Back home in Sacramento, Russ Eads, 27, works for Costco. He's also engaged to be married. He's scheduled to be on active duty for about a year, but his dad is happy that his son hasn't had any close calls yet and that the people of Baghdad appreciate the soldiers being there.