With soldiers deployed, families of local guardsmen come together for support and to celebrate autumn

Sterling Drummond, a Higginsville teen, stands at a table that holds blank Christmas cards and material for Christmas ornaments, both of which will be sent to deployed soldiers nearer to December along with a large piece of paper with a Christmas tree drawn on it and colored.
(Geoff Rands/Democrat-News)

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The event had a "treat walk," an inflatable bouncy castle, face painting, an "apple scoop," a station for making Christmas cards and ornaments to be sent to soldiers and a bake sale with voluntary donations, which included the sale of shirts that read, "Got Freedom?"

"We're trying to bring the community and family members (of guardsmen) together," said Bridget McBee, co-founder of the Family Readiness Group. "A lot of people don't know how to support (military families). If you know a military family and they have someone deployed, cook them a meal, mow their lawn (and) see that spouse get a break from their kids. It's the little things that are the most important."

Martha Holland, left, of Marshall, watches her 5-year-old daughter Courtney, right, fill out a Christmas card that will be sent to a deployed member of the armed forces.
(Geoff Rands/Democrat-News)

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McBee's husband was one of the guardsmen who recently returned from Afghanistan.

"You form a friendship (with other wives), so you have someone to call at two in the morning when you see the news and it scares you," McBee said. "It's not grim. You find a way to make it through."

She added, "A lot of people don't understand military life. You have a parent there and then gone. It's like a loss. They miss birthdays, they miss our anniversaries, they miss holidays. It's a commitment. You count the days from the day they leave to the day they come home."

Briana Adolphs, 9, of Marshall, gets her face painted by Colin Thrift of Sedalia, left, at the National Guard Fall Festival on Saturday.
(Geoff Rands/Democrat-News)

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People walk around, she said, and interact with him as though he's just part of the family again.

Without her husband, says Gochenour, life is "busy. What he tends to, I have to tend to now. If something breaks, I have to get it fixed. It's easier now than last time, because my children were younger. These younger mothers are who I worry about, so that's why we do this."

Gochenour and McBee, with others, formed the Family Readiness Group during this past summer.

"We (had) to work out the kinks and come up with activities," said Gochenour.

This is the first event for which the Family Readiness Group invited the community to join them.

"We do appreciate the support we get from the community," said Gochenour. "We want to get a little more involved. Even after (my husband retires), I'm still going to volunteer. I just think it's important."

McBee said, "I think the families get forgotten about. We are part of the soldiers. Our families make a commitment, too."

Contact Geoff Rands at marshallreporter@socket.net