Soldiers honor loved ones, present awards at 1140th's fall Family Day

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Twice a year, the Soldiers of the 1140th Engineer Battalion make it a point to remind their spouses, children and other loved ones that they are the backbone of the Missouri Army National Guard.

It's called Family Day, and it's a time when present and past Citizen-Soldiers and their families gather together to enjoy barbecue with friends and loved ones, spending a warm fall afternoon reminiscing about the "good old days," playing games, fishing with their kids and even presenting a few well-deserved awards.

The 1140th's Headquarters and Forward Support Company celebrated this fall's Family Day during a recent Saturday at the VFW Lakes in rural Cape Girardeau County.

"It's a good time and it's always a lot of fun," said Staff Sgt. David Hudson, the Headquarters Company training noncommissioned officer. "But the reason we do it is we want to show our family members that we appreciate all that they do. This is for them. Without their help and support, it would almost be impossible for us to be successful in our military careers."

A Soldier's spouse and children often have to pick up the slack around the house when they are deployed -- whether it's to a dangerous combat zone overseas or for State Emergency Duty closer to home.

"It's not easy on the Soldier, but it's certainly not easy for the families we leave behind," said Lt. Latrina Dudley with the 1140th's Forward Support Company. "The Soldier and his or her family have to work together for this thing to work. So we take a day or two a year to show them that we couldn't do it without them. And we really couldn't."

Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Allred, the readiness noncommissioned officer for the Forward Support Company, said that Family Day also allows the Soldiers' family members to see their loved ones as Soldiers.

"It lets them see us together and get a better sense of what the Guard's about and what we do," Allred said. "And it also allows us all a chance to unwind and just spend time together away from the armory."

Family Day also gives prior service Guardsmen a chance to reconnect with their old military friends. William Blaylock, who served in the Guard for nearly 30 years, attended this particular Family Day with his wife. Blaylock's son is now in the Guard, so he says he has several reasons for wanting to attend Family Day.

"I'll always be a part of the Guard and I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for it," said Blaylock, who retired as a major and served 20 years in the 140th -- which since has become the 1140th and then 10 years as the director of military education at Officer Candidate School in Jefferson City.

When Blaylock joined in 1948, he said, the military in general did not give enough credit to a Soldier's Family members.

"I think events like this are great," he said. "They need to get the Families involved and show them that what they do is as important as what we do. They work hard, raising the Family and making it possible for the Soldiers to serve. They really are the unsung heroes."

Several awards were also presented at the Family Day event. Recently retired Guardsmen Staff Sgt. Phil Patterson and Master Sgt. Norbert Vandeven were presented with flags, certificates and Meritorious Service Medals for their many years of service. Patterson, who lives in Scott City, served in the Guard for 30 years and Vandeven of Marble Hill served for 41 years. Both served in Headquarters Company.

Several Soldiers from the Forward Support Company were awarded the Army Achievement Medal:

* Sgt. Heather Weimer, for outstanding performance while serving as company administrative noncommissioned officer;

* Spc. Glenn Hartwick, for outstanding performance while serving as a food specialist during annual training 2009

* Spc. Paul New, for outstanding performance while serving as a food specialist during annual training 2009

* Pfc. Cody Rigg, for outstanding achievement during annual training 2009 for helping secure a satisfactory passing score during the CORE-M inspection;

* Spc. Johnny Pyles, for outstanding achievement during annual training 2009 for helping secure a satisfactory passing score during the CORE-M inspection.

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

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For more information about this release, please contact Scott Moyers at 573-339-6237 or at scott.moyers1@us.army.mil