Bedford's Company A back from Iraq

BEDFORD — Shelly Wilcox left her upstate New York home at 3 a.m. Wednesday to travel with her family to Bedford and wish her son, Michael, a happy 22nd birthday.

His arrival shortly after 1 p.m. from a tour of duty in Iraq— along with 84 other soldiers of Bedford’s Company A of the Virginia National Guard — was the best present she could have asked for.

“I am just very, very happy to see him,” Wilcox said of the completion of her son’s first tour to the war-torn country.

On a cold winter day in early January, more than 300 troops from the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Regiment, 116th Brigade Combat Team departed from a gathering at Liberty University for training in Camp Shelby, Miss.

They had served in Iraq since March and, according to the guard’s public affairs office, completed 278 convoy escort missions, transporting more than 120 million gallons of fuel and 900,000 short tons of supplies without sustaining any injuries. Convoy escort teams responded to 22 enemy attacks from small arms fire, indirect fire and IED detonations.

The troops joyfully reunited with family and loved ones on Wednesday at the armories Bedford and Lynchburg, along with armories in Lexington and Christiansburg. Soldiers returned to the Lynchburg armory shortly before 9 p.m.

In Bedford, the returning soldiers hugged and kissed wives, girlfriends and children, and all around photos were snapped to catch moments of the reunions.

“As soon as we walked through the bay doors and saw our families, we immediately became over-flushed with emotion,” Capt. Miguel Lickliter said.

Bedford Mayor Skip Tharp was on hand to wish the troops “a loud and sincere thank you for a job well done.”

Tharp said the soldiers carried much history with them as part of Company A — the storied group is known for heavy casualties endured during the Normandy invasion, which led to the installation of the National D-Day Memorial in the city.

Tharp also expressed gratitude to their families.

“Our community thanks you for all these many months they’ve been gone,” Tharp said.

Jonathan Stott, 25, one of the returning soldiers, held his infant son Christopher shortly after the troops were dismissed. It was his second time seeing his son, who was born in April — Stott had received a brief leave of absence to see him shortly after the birth, said Elaina Jordan, his girlfriend.

“I was able to keep in touch with him through e-mail so I was able to send him pictures and talk to him while I was in the hospital,” said Jordan, who traveled from Baltimore on Wednesday to be there.

Shelly Wilcox said she was able to communicate effectively with son Michael during his time in Iraq. She used Skype, a software application that allows users to make calls over the Internet, and webcam interaction.

“It seemed like he was in the next room,” she said, “although there were periods of times where we weren’t able to talk to him because he was out on missions … a couple of those times stretched a little long and we got a bit worried, but the communication level was very good between him and us.”

Staff Sgt. Robert Vaught, a native of Nottoway County, reunited with his fiancée, Carrie Thomas, of Amherst. The couple was apart for eight months, he said. He proposed in December, a month before deploying.

“It’s a great feeling,” Vaught said of his return. “It’s like Christmas morning.”

At the time he was planning his proposal, he said he did not know he would be deployed. It was not a hasty decision, he said, knowing beforehand that she was the one to marry.

“We’ve just taken it in stride,” said Thomas, adding the wedding planning never stopped. “We wanted it to be in warm weather, but we’re not going to wait until next year.”

The two are set to marry in November, they said.

“My plans are just making up for lost time,” Vaught said.