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Charlie Company comes home
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Springfield resident Cpl. Craig Washington scoops his daughter into his arms after returning from Iraq, where he served for seven months. Reminder photo by Natasha Clark
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By Sarah M. Corigliano
Assistant Managing Editor
HARTFORD, CONN. Last Wednesday, families from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island waited anxiously for buses full of Charlie Company Marines to arrive at the Hartford Armory.
The men were coming from Camp Pendleton in California, the last stop on their way home from Fallujah, Iraq, where they have been serving since early April.
Arriving at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, the men were brought to the hundreds attending their homecoming in Hartford. Family members and friends gathered beginning at 7 p.m. and had refreshments, watched a DVD of still photos from the company's deployment, and heard from non-deployed members of Charlie Company as they gave a few details of their location and anticipated arrival in Hartford.
The Rafter family, of Springfield, was waiting for Corporal Corey Rafter.
Waiting were Rafter's brother, Tim, his parents Jean Marie and Steve, and two aunts who came from North Carolina to help celebrate his home coming.
Their plans for when he got home were few.
"We just want him to relax and have a good time," said Jean Marie Rafter. "We have some family coming up and we're just going to let him unwind."
It was almost 10 p.m. when the Marines arrived. They filed into the gymnasium in formation, by platoon, and commanding officer Major Vaughn Ward asked for a moment of silence for Charlie Company members killed in action.
What had been a gymnasium full of loud, excited, cheering supporters became quiet, and shortly Marines were officially dismissed by Ward and allowed to reunite with their families.
Many stood in line to shake hands with or hug Enfield resident 1st Sergeant Ben Grainger, who served as Charlie Company's First Sergeant and kept a blog of the company's activities while they were serving in Iraq.
It was not long before Marines, loaded down with their sea bags and accompanied by infants, toddlers, parents, grandparents, siblings, girlfriends and wives made their way to the parking garage to begin their own journey home.
According to Family Readiness Officer Staff Sergeant Cardichon, Charlie Company Marines will be considered on active duty until December, and after that they will not have to drill for two or three more months.
As reservists, they will be able to return to work or school, or seek new jobs once they get settled back into civilian life.
In preparation for the homecoming, Cardichon said the Family Readiness office reached out to Charlie Company family members to make them aware of Veterans Affairs benefits, health benefits and signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and where to go for help, if needed. Cardichon said Marines received the same information while at Camp Pendleton, as well.
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