In a familiar scene that played out all around Community Stadium in La Grande Tuesday afternoon, Staff Sgt. Shannon Hively of La Grande and his family share hugs before he and his fellow 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry, Guardsmen board buses to begin their year-long deployment. The unit is heading to Camp Shelby, Miss., for training, and then it will go to Iraq. (The (La Grande) Observer/Chris Baxter)

LA GRANDE – Julie Coreson fought back the tears all day. She never

let them go until the last bus carrying soldiers of the Oregon National

Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry to their Iraq deployment passed

her by on Adams Avenue.

Then she couldn’t hold back anymore. There on the street, she cried.

“Proud. I feel proud,” said Coreson, the wife of Imbler Guard member

Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Coreson. “I think we live in a good country, but

also a good community. I don’t think he could deploy from a better

community than this.”

People turned out in La Grande by the thousands Tuesday to bid

farewell to 3rd Battalion soldiers headed for the troubled Mideast

nation.

It was a day of fluttering flags and yellow ribbons and speeches by

politicians and military leaders. In a noon ceremony at Community

Stadium on the Eastern Oregon University campus, Gov. Ted Kulongoski,

Guard commander in chief, was the keynote speaker.

Addressing soldiers gathered in ranks before him, Kulongoski said he

has mixed emotions as, for a second time in six years, he sends the

unit off to Iraq.

“Along with the pain, I feel a tremendous pride for you and your families, who like you have sacrificed so much,” he said.

Kulongoski said that while combat operations in Iraq have been declared over, there is still the chance the 3rd Battalion will face violence and warfare. He praised the soldiers for the willingness to endure hardship and danger.

“The 3/116th is mobilized again to complete a mission that began seven and a half years ago,” Kulongoski said. “There is continued risk to you as soldiers, but that is the price you’ve always been willing to pay. Your training and professionalism are second to none, and your dedication is unwavering.”

Major Gen. Raymond F. Rees, the Oregon Guard’s adjutant general, also spoke during the ceremony. One of his jobs, he said, is to certify units as combat-ready. He said he finds the 3/116th more than up to the task at hand.

“These soldiers have been trained and meet the requirements. This unit exceeds all standards and has great leadership,” Rees said.

Col. Todd Plimpton, commander of the Oregon National Guard’s 82nd Brigade, put it another way as he spoke directly to the troops.

“As your brigade commander, I have no doubt that you are ready to get it on,” he said.

Besides remarks from military and civilian leaders, Tuesday’s ceremony included a posting of colors, Kulongoski’s presentation of a state flag to 3rd Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Phil Appleton, and Appleton’s presentation of the unit colors to the governor.

Helen Johnson of Scappoose embraced her husband, Sgt. Karl Johnson, as they waited for the inevitable moment to arrive. Their children, Jessy and Dezaray, crowded close.

“This is his third deployment. I’m going to miss him a lot, but I’m proud of him,” Helen said.

Along the street where the buses waited, Jeanne Wafford, of Twin Falls, Idaho, sat dabbing her eyes with a tissue after she said goodbye to her grandson, Spc. Tyler Wafford of Redmond.

Jeanne said Tyler has been in the Guard a number of years but never had the chance to deploy. He transferred to the 3/116th so he could go to Iraq.

“He’s been wanting to go for years now. He finally hooked up with the company from The Dalles. He’s very excited,” she said.

In June 2004, the 116th Brigade Combat team, including 3rd Battalion, left for training at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Polk, La., then deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit returned to the United States in November 2005.

The 3rd Battalion, with headquarters in La Grande, consists of units from Ontario, Baker City, La Grande, Pendleton, Hermiston, The Dalles and Hood River.

Third Battalion soldiers hail from cities and towns throughout the local area. Some from farther away transferred to the unit for the deployment.

In April of this year, the 116th BCT was notified by the Department of Defense that it would deploy again to Iraq. This month, soldiers completed an intensive three-week pre-deployment training session at the Orchard Training Area near Gowen Field in Boise.

Sgt. Matt Dickenson, of Joseph, took part in that training and much more as the unit got ready to go. Tuesday, as he spent a few last moments with his mother, Elane Dickenson, he said he feels well-prepared.

“We’re confident,” he said. “We’ve been training non-stop and everything’s been going smoothly. We’ve gotten a lot of praise,” he said.

By 3 p.m., soldiers were aboard their buses, ready for the first leg of their journey. They were scheduled to head for Gowen Field in Boise first, then travel to Camp Shelby, Miss.

After two months more of training, they will take up their duty station in Iraq. The whole deployment is expected to last a year.

The buses were escorted out of town Tuesday by motorcylists from the Patriot Guard, the American Legion Riders and the Union County Veterans Motorcycle Club. Well-wishers lined the route.

Julie Coreson was one of many who rushed downtown from the deployment ceremony to watch the procession go by.

She recalled how her husband, Dennis, had deployed with the 3rd Battalion in 2004, broke his leg in an accident shortly after he arrived in-country and had to return home.

She remembered how impatient he was for the leg to heal, and how he re-joined the unit in Iraq as soon he was able.

“We’re praying for no broken legs this time,” she said, smiling through her tears.