109th expecting to deploy soon

BY PATRICK LEONARD

and ROBERT L. BAKER

At least three area soldiers will be part of one of the largest Pennsylvania National Guard deployments since 9/11.

Susan and Stephen Bayak of Mehoopany held a going-away party for their son Stephen Saturday and said they had mixed emotions of his being away in a foreign land.

Their son, who went toElklakeHigh Schooland signed up with the National Guard in 2009, said he went through basic training to be an infantryman.

He acknowledged that he has known a deployment was in the works but was a little skiddish about what he was allowed to say.

He said he was proud to serve his country but would very definitely find it trying to be away from loved ones including his 4-year-old daughter.

“We’ve tried to avoid talking about it,” the younger Bayak said.

But mom and dad look on it with both pride, peppered with a little concern.

Mom has tied yellow ribbons around trees on theirShady Lanehome not just for her son “but for all those serving our country.”

A memorial program for soldiers killed in past wars was intermingled with a deployment program at the Kingston Armory on Sunday.

The 1^st Battalion 109^th Field Artillery held its deployment ceremony and 62^nd Annual Memorial Service on Sunday afternoon at the Kingston Armory.

Approximately 180 soldiers from the 109^th will be activated soon, maybe as early as Thursday morning.

The Battalion will spend two months training in Mississippibefore being deployed to Kuwaitto support the 104^th Cavalry Unit out ofPhiladelphia.

The 109^th’s deployment is scheduled to last for approximately one year.

“The primary mission for our battalion while in-country will be security,” Lt. Col. Scott A. Mathna, Commander of the 1^st Battalion said. “We will conduct vehicle patrols, escort other units, and provide support. Our soldiers have known about the possibility of this deployment for the last two years. It’s been hard on them, their families, and their employers as well.”

The deployment ceremony was held along with a Memorial Service for the train crash that killed 33 soldiers from the 109^th on September 11, 1950. On that day the unit was travelling toCamp Atterbury,Indiana, having been activated for participation in the Korean conflict.

The 109^th has held a memorial service in honor of its fallen comrades every year since then.

Since 2002, the memorial also has honored the lives of those killed by the 9/11 hijackers in 2001.

The ceremony on Sunday was attended by veterans of the 109^th and by many family members and friends of the unit’s current soldiers.

The 109^th Field Artillery has a proud tradition inAmerica’s military history, tracing its roots back to October 17, 1775 and participation in the Revolutionary War. The unit has served in every major American War.

Lieutenant Colonel Mathna said he has no doubt that the battalion’s current soldiers will live up to the standards set by their predecessors.

“I’m extremely proud of the dedication of our soldiers. It has been a trying two years,” Mathna remarked. “They have remained focused and are ready to go. It’s an honor to be their commander.”

Other soldiers from the area known to be deploying are Eric Ransome and Gary Sands.