Thursday, November 11, 2004

By RAIN SMITH
Reporter

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. - Staff Sgt. Ronald McAbee, 58, spent a Friday night running between high school football games while on leave earlier this month, watching three of his 10 grandchildren play.

Meanwhile, Spc. Jeremy Bonds, 20, was getting married Nov. 2 in Greeneville during his leave.

While the man from Roan Mountain is nearly four decades Bonds' elder, the men are on a mission together. They represent the oldest, and nearly the youngest, soldiers in Tennessee's Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2/278th Regimental Combat Team. Based at the Kingsport National Guard Armory, 2/278th soldiers will take part in a send-off ceremony today in Camp Shelby before heading into Iraq prior to the end of the year.

In their barracks - affectionately referred to as "hellhole" by some soldiers - they were making final preparations Wednesday for their journey overseas. It will be McAbee's third tour in harm's way. The former Marine served in Desert Storm and Vietnam. He, along with Bonds, agrees the veteran has helped season the younger soldiers a third his age.

"I was a country boy that had never eaten pizza before - that's how country I was (before Vietnam)," McAbee said. "It was a new world for me. But the training and experience I got then, I believe has helped me prepare some younger troops for this time."

If age creates a rift between the two, it's well-concealed as they tease each other.

"We hear about being youngsters a lot and that we've still got a lot of living to do," Bonds said. "But me and a couple others were the top scorers in PT, so when they give us a hard time we throw it back at them."

McAbee said the interaction between young and old is beneficial to both.

"Seeing them work sometimes gives you incentive to drive on. It really does," McAbee said. "I've been in a lot of platoons, and none of them had as good a cohesion."

Despite that cohesion, it's likely that distinctions between this war and Vietnam cannot be fully realized by soldiers born decades after Vietnam's conclusion.

"Before I was cursed, spit on and so on," McAbee said. "This time it is a world of difference. I think the people in this country are really behind us now, and that's a real relief to see that based on what I had seen 30 years ago."

Joining McAbee and Bonds is Spc. Jessie James Brown, Bulls Gap, also 20. With a shrug he says military life has been enlightening, but not necessarily enjoyable.

"It's good experience, but I don't like it," Brown said. "We just have to do it."

Before even hitting foreign soil, Bonds is imagining his return home.

"I'm going to start a family, have a house built, and start my real life," Bonds said. "I'm looking forward to just seeing my wife smile. Relaxing and having my life slow down because there is such a high speed to everything here. But when I get home I'm going to do what I want to do."

Even the veteran McAbee can't resist looking ahead and returning to civilian life full time. The 58-year-old's time in the military was officially up last October, but the National Guard extended his service for two more years.

"Little things like taking a shower will be a luxury," he said.

What are McAbee's greatest words of wisdom to young soldiers? Don't believe it until you see it.

As Bonds discusses how soldiers are supposed to have Internet access to stay in touch with family, McAbee interrupts.

"One thing I've told them that I've learned over the years is you never know what's happening," McAbee said. "The way it is you can't get too excited about things you hear until they happen, and I've seen that with some of these younger ones. That can lead to disappointment a lot."

McAbee says he never expected to be sent back to war. Even though they signed up after the terrorist attacks on America in 2001, the 20-year-olds were shocked too.

All three laugh off the notion of missing the confines of Camp Shelby, where they've trained since June. "We're ready to move on and get it over with," Brown said.

"I've got a little nervousness in my body because I don't know what to expect," Bonds said. "It's going to be a whole new world over there compared to home."

When home on leave, Bonds was taken aback by the support the community has shown for the 278th. Between stopping along the interstate to kiss the "Welcome to Tennessee" sign and getting married, he noticed ribbons and signs throughout Northeast Tennessee.

Such gestures are not lost on soldiers, no matter the age.

"People stop you on the street and say they are going to pray for us, and that makes you feel good," McAbee said. "That's a big change from when I went to Vietnam."

Story Copyright to Kingsport Times-News