Moonlighters, Stingers return from Iraq
Though shivering in her new sleek, black skirt suit, Jessica Schuffert refused to take shelter from the cold and wind gusting through the hangar Monday at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
"I don't want to miss anything," said Schuffert, who was waiting for her husband of almost three years, Staff Sgt. James Schuffert, to return from a seven-month deployment in Al Asad, Iraq, along with about 110 fellow Marines from All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 332 and 50 from Marine Aviation Logistics 31.
http://www.marine-corps-news.com/2006/02/house_honors_marine_killed_in.htm
Published Tue, Feb 14, 2006
By LORI YOUNT
The Beaufort Gazette
This was VMFA 332's first deployment to Iraq since the war began in March 2003, but several other squadrons on the base, including detachments from MALS 31, have been deployed there, air station spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Kansteiner said.
While in Iraq, the Moonlighters and Stingers flew and supported missions in western Iraq and were airborne during the constitutional referendum and parliamentary elections, according to an air station release.
Instead of a flag, Jessica Schuffert clutched a single white long-stemmed rose in her manicured hands.
"It's kind of our thing -- they're my favorite," she said, adding that her husband had managed to send her a dozen of the roses just a few weeks ago from Iraq. "I decided to bring him one."
Nearby, Vicki Downs was keeping her hands occupied by knitting a bright orange scarf. She's knitted at least three since her son, Cpl. David Downs, volunteered to deploy to Iraq with MALS 31. She and her husband drove from Kentucky to see their son return home.
"I couldn't watch the news at all," she said. "I get nervous."
Her husband, David Downs, said he watched the news all day, though, for his son who is a mechanic.
"I'd try to get a glimpse of him," he said, referencing a speech that his son attended. "I'd try to look and see, but I never did see him."
The tension mounted and the crowd of families grew as it neared the projected arrival time of 1:15 p.m. As the jumbo jet rolled in and, after what seemed like forever, the Marines started stepping out of the plane, David Downs, digital camera in hand and flags in shirt pockets, strained to get the first glimpse of his son since July.
Once Cpl. David Downs approached his parents, there were plenty of hugs and photos, and the 23-year-old appeared calm at the homecoming from his first deployment to Iraq, for which he decided to volunteer "for the experience" of what war is really like.
"The most important thing I learned is not to take anything for granted," he said.
Jessica Schuffert couldn't wait for her husband to come to her. As soon as he put his rifle in the rack, her shivers subsided and she bounded toward him, rose in hand, and he lifted her up in a kiss as she hung onto him and kicked up her legs in excitement.
She whisked her husband off ahead of most the other Marines. Earlier, she said she it doesn't matter if she receives any long-stemmed roses today.
"Just having him home is my Valentine," she said.
Contact Lori Yount at 986-5531 or lyount@beaufortgazette.com. To comment: beaufortgazette.com.