Homecoming – Tuckasegee TR
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The phone rang in the wee hours of the morning. I reluctantly answered it with apprehension. If you’ve got a 19 year old Marine that is spending the better part of the year in the Sangin Valley (Republic of Afghanistan) you know how I felt. My youngest son was on the other end. The sat phone connection was somewhat garbled but I clearly heard the words, “…..coming home.” I made some arrangements at work and headed for our mountain retreat in Dillsboro, NC (more on this later). It’s a six hour drive across the state to Camp Lejeune and I planned to be there when the bus rolled in. Rumor was they would be landing in Cherry Point in about 24 hours. My wife and I made it to Lejeune at 0800 and immediately noticed all the banners welcoming the heavy hitting Marines of the “one – six” (1st Battalion 6th Marine Regiment) home.
After a 2-hour wait…we were told the 1/6 had landed, boarded buses and were at the armory turning in their weapons. Their “luggage” arrived a short time later. Here’s a photo of the baggage claim area.
Dirty, tired and excited…..they came marching in. A pat on the back, or a dropped duffle bag elicited a cloud of the Afghan “moon dust.”
They were dismissed for a “96” which is military lingo for four (4) days off.
My son wanted to get the heck out of there and go fishing. We loaded up the truck and headed west to the mountains of NC. Last year we took advantage of the terrible real estate market and picked up a foreclosure on the Tuckasegee River. With a lot of work….we turned it into a fishing “man cave”. This was our destination for the “96”.
The next morning…after a hearty breakfast we dumped the woodie (this is a photo I took a couple of months earlier).
It wasn’t long before we had a hook up. The Marine landed a nice one.
…followed by the old man.
Caught a few brownies while dredging the bottom with the sink tip and streamers.
Even scored the Tuckasegee Slam with a smallie.
It was a great few days and ended way to soon. We headed back to Lejeune at about 10:00 pm and made it to the base in time for breakfast…dropped him off….and headed back west.
Semper Fi.
Very nice report. Thank your son for his service as well as you and the rest of his family. My brother is overseas and I know how much of a toll it takes on the family as well. Glad yall could get out and unwind!
Thanks guys. I’ll send him the link to this thread.
Matt….here’s hoping your brother is safely home soon and you guys will be fishing together.
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