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Drive-by parade Saturday will welcome home Charles City soldiers

Drive-by parade Saturday will welcome home Charles City soldiers
Charles City High School alumni Iowa Army National Guard members deployed to Qatar are Conor Sherman, Nick Jacobs, Dallas Nehls, Jaden Foster, Marco Concepcion, Dave Dejongoy and Austin Ferch. Also deployed but not pictured are Mitchel Fox and Elizabeth White. Submitted photo
By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Nine Charles City soldiers who recently returned from a year’s deployment in the Middle East will be honored with a “drive-by” parade Saturday morning.

The members of the Army National Guard are all Charles City High School graduates, including five members of the Class of 2016.

They are Austin Ferch, Mitchel Fox, Nick Jacobs, Dallas Nehls and Conor Sherman — Class of 2016; Dave Dejongoy and Jaden Foster — Class of 2017; and Marco Concepcion and Elizabeth White — Class of 2018.

Charles City Mayor Dean Andrews said it’s probably not yet time to start having real parades because of continuing pandemic mitigation, so the soldiers will be on a decorated flatbed trailer in front of 600 N. Main St., Saturday between 10 and 11 a.m.

People are encouraged to drive by the trailer — in vehicles decorated patriotically if they desire — and wave to and shout out greetings and welcome-home wishes to the returned Guard members.

The eight men are all part of the 1-133rd Headquarters Company and served in Qatar. They arrived home Tuesday to a welcome ceremony at the Waterloo airport. The ceremony was closed to the public and streamed online.

White serves in Company B and arrived home last Friday to a welcome ceremony at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids.

The members of 1-133rd Infantry Battalion were supporting Operation Spartan Shield in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, which encompasses 27 countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

 

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