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58 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, March 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 26, 2005 Spec. Ben Cortez, a Medford resident stationed in Iraq with the Oregon Army National Guard, hugs his mother, Wanda Poteet, after he and fellow soldiers returned Friday night by bus to the Medford armory. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Welcome back Oregon Guard soldiers return home for Easter, embraced by loved ones and I-5 well-wishers By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Cradling an American flag and a bundle of red roses in one arm, Wanda Poteet of Medford stressed one point into the cell phone in her other hand Friday evening. "Tell the driver to speed up — I’ll pay for the ticket," she said, half-seriously. She was talking to her son, Spec. Ben Cortez, one of 29 Oregon Army National Guard soldiers from the area returning home Friday evening for the first time since leaving Iraq. The citizen soldiers are members of the 1st Battalion of the 186th Infantry headquartered in Ashland who volunteered to augment the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, based in Cottage Grove. Some 600 members of the 2/162nd were deployed last March to Iraq along with a little more than 100 from the 1/186th. Advertisement Those returning Friday started out their day at Fort Lewis, Wash., where they have been in the process of demobilization. They were in a 13-bus convoy that began at Fort Lewis with buses peeling off for Guard armories in Portland, Forest Grove, Woodburn, Salem, Corvallis. Eugene, Roseburg, Coos Bay and Newport. Medford was the last stop. In addition to Ashland, the 1/186th has units in Medford, Grants Pass, Klamath Falls and Roseburg. Although the bus arrived at dusk, some two hours later than expected, it didn’t cool the flag-waving, bear-hugging crowd in Medford. Wanda Poteet cried as she saw her son step out of the bus. She waded through the crowd to embrace him. His grandmother, Betty Poteet, also of Medford, could barely hold back tears as her daughter and grandson hugged. "He looks so good," his grandmother said. "So good," she repeated softly. He was also greeted by his sister, Amanda Cortez, and a young niece and cousin. Like the other citizen soldiers, Cortez, who hadn’t been home since he had leave in July, was amazed by the reception. "It’s been such a shock just pulling into the state itself," he said. "I never expected such a show of appreciation. We’ve been overwhelmed. "We had people parked on the side of the road waving," he added. "It was overwhelming, intense." During its deployment, the unit served in and around Baghdad, including flashpoints like Sadr City, Fullujah and Najaf. Eight members of the Oregon Guard have been killed by improvised explosive devices — roadside bombs — and several others were wounded in Iraq. But no one from the local unit was killed, observed Sgt. Major Randy Mefford of Medford after hugging his wife, Candace, and children. "We brought everybody from our unit home alive," Mefford said. "We had six guys from the Roseburg area that were wounded but no one from our unit (1/186th) was wounded. We brought everybody home." Mefford, who had served in Iraq as a member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division during the 1991 Gulf War, was also moved by the reception. "From Washington all the way to here, we had police, Vietnam veterans on Harley Davidsons, (U.S.) Bureau of Land Management, county sheriffs — it’s been outstanding," he said. "The people have been phenomenal," he said. "This isn’t a traditional military community. It’s a lot more special here. "An American by birth and an Oregonian by the grace of God," he added. Returning Iraq war veteran Staff Sgt. Timothy Edwards wasn’t an Oregonian but the Sacramento resident joined the local unit after he found out it was being deployed. His wife, Gina, and three children — Kayla, Janelle and Vanessa — were waiting for him in Medford. "I haven’t picked up a newspaper or watched the news since he left," his wife said. "And I think that’s what kept me sane. "And I’m glad I did," she added. "Since he came back, I’ve read a paper and it’s scary what’s happening over there." "Hey, I made it through OK," her husband said as he gave her another hug. Medford resident Spec. Thomas Gury stepped off the bus to be greeted by his wife, Ginny, and parents Richard and Patricia McLinn of Phoenix. "It was great — awesome," Spec. Gury said of the homecoming. "It was way more than I expected." His wife, who had met him at Fort Lewis when the unit arrived late last week, stood with her arms around him. "It’s so great to have him back home," she said. "It’s just the little things, like having him see our dog again." "We’re so happy and excited he’s here in one piece," his mother added. "We’ve been doing a lot of praying." Wanda Poteet expressed similar sentiments. "It’s so good to have him home in one piece," she said of her son, Spec. Cortez. "I know he’s been beyond what anybody can comprehend." Her son said he hadn’t had time to think of the immediate future. "I don’t have any plans yet — it’s a shock just to be home," he said. But the family did have one plan for Friday night — dinner at the Backporch Barbecue in Jacksonville. "That’s what he wanted — I made reservations," his mom said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s