WAHIAWA — Lita Fejes spent too much of her Sunday morning saying goodbye.
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| Cori Lum, 21, center, says goodbye to brother, Zack, and mother, Charlene, of Wai'anae as the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade heads to the Mainland for training — and then Iraq.
Photos by Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
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She got up well before dawn to hustle her husband, a specialist in the 29th Separate Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Hawai'i Army National Guard, to the departure lines at Schofield Barracks, where the rest of his unit was readying for deployment. Four hours after her husband took off for Fort Bliss, Texas, on his way to Iraq, Fejes joined her daughter-in-law to bid farewell to her son, Sgt. Nick Harris.
"It's hard; you can't describe it," said Fejes, staring blankly at her son as he mingled with fellow soldiers and their families yesterday. "When (the deployment) first started, you can't comprehend till the day they both leave."
Fejes was one of hundreds of family members who gathered at Schofield Barracks in the pre-dawn darkness yesterday to send off more than 600 members of the 29th Brigade, which is preparing for deployment to Iraq early next year. The buses started leaving Schofield for Hickam Air Force Base around 2:30 a.m., said Maj. Charles Anthony.
A second group left well after sunrise.
The citizen soldiers are slated to undergo training at Fort Bliss before flying to Fort Polk, La., where they will undergo combat certification before replacing the 81st Brigade out of Washington state in Balad, Iraq, in late February 2005.
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| Sgt. Nick Harris holds Nikayla, 2, as he shares a final moment with wife Sharolyn. His mom, Lita Fejes, had said goodbye to her soldier husband just hours earlier. |
In all, 2,500 soldiers from the 29th Brigade are leaving this week. Once overseas, they will join about 10,000 soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division (Light) based at Schofield Barracks who are in Iraq and Afghanistan, part of the largest movement of Hawai'i-based troops since the Vietnam War.
Many of the men and women deploying held back tears as they expressed pride in their mission while admitting to being torn up about leaving their families.
"It's heartbreaking, because I want her to understand but I know she can't," said Sharolyn Harris as she held her 2-year-old daughter Nikayla.
Her husband, Sgt. Nick Harris, a 35-year-old electronics technician, said he was leaving one family to be with another, and was already looking forward to coming home.
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| A departing soldier yells "Aloha, everybody" as his bus pulls out of Schofield Barracks. |
"It's always going to be tough, no matter how you look at it," he said. "You pull more toward your personal family, because that is the base of your life."
Soldiers, friends and family convened in a large training yard yesterday morning to savor one more moment together before months of uncertainty. Children, some too young to comprehend the magnitude of the morning, scurried around fatigue-clad parents, while others slept soundly.
Some people laughed, and everyone cried as the people who would remain behind did their best to muster smiles and utter well-wishes that wouldn't betray the sadness all felt. Long hugs and tearful kisses took place over and over as the troops awaited their buses.
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| Spc. Michelle Tucay watches with her daughter, Tristan, as the buses pull up. |
"It's a sad moment — I leave my little one behind," said Spc. Ulises Najera, 27, a screener for the Transportation Security Administration. "We'll deal with it."
Spc. Lori Mendoza-Villalpando, 24, from Maui, said she was sad to leave her daughter, son and husband, but recognized that duty called.
"I don't want to leave, but I signed up for this, so I have to fulfill my duty," she said, hoisting her daughter onto her shoulder.
State Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo expressed pride at the chance to go overseas with her unit. "I'm ready. I volunteered for it and it is an honor to be a part of this group here," she said.
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| Spc. Terrence Padaca and members of the 29th Support Battalion bow their heads in prayer as the unit prepares to depart for training in Fort Bliss, Texas, before heading to Balad, Iraq, in February. |
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| Hugs, tears, and emotion-laden silences punctuated the morning as waves of soldiers boarded buses for Hickam Air Force Base. In all, 2,500 soldiers from the 29th Brigade are leaving for Texas this week. |
Her mother, Carol Gabbard, said she was worried about her daughter's safety. "We're very proud of her," she said. "We're concerned and praying that the situation will be resolved over there sooner rather than later."
As the line of blue buses started filing into the streets around the training yard, the troops began to make their final preparations to depart. The small roving packs of family and friends closed tight around their loved ones, some praying, others simply embracing.
Some fathers said nothing to their sons, choosing to convey their emotion in a strong hug and hearty slap on the back. One mother tried to stop crying, burying her face in her daughter's shoulder as she stroked the girl's cheek.
Lt. Jeff Hickman, 33, said his No. 1 goal was to come back and reunite with his family, but admitted he was eager to deploy.
"Deep inside, everybody wants to go," he said. "If you're in the military, you want the call. I'm ready to do it, and I want it to go by quickly."
His wife, Dani, said, "I've been crying up a till. I'm proud of him, I want it to go by quickly, and then he'll come home and it will all be fine."
Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.
