Texarkana Gazette Article On Travis
Link to article:
http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/localnews/2007/05/29/a_soldiers_homecoming.php
C&P of article:
A soldiers homecoming
Staff photo by John Fooks Reclining in a porch swing, Lisa Rachel Griffin and her son Private First Class Travis E. Nunn spend a special moment together at their Redwater, Texas, home on Memorial Day afternoon. Griffin had specially painted the porch swing for her sons homecoming from Iraq.
Mondays Memorial Day brought a memory not likely forgotten by Lisa Rachel Griffin of Redwater, Texas. She was on the phone in the kitchen at 11 a.m. with her oldest son, Mark Nunn, 23, who lives in California, when she heard the sound of a car pulling into her driveway in the Echo Hills subdivision near Redwater. She heard the crunching of gravel through the kitchen and the garage doors, both open for just that purpose. `Hold on, Mark' she shouted into the phone before racing toward the car rolling to a stop. She was in her younger sons arms before he was out of the car. `Oh, God, thank You! Welcome home, son' exclaimed the mother of 19-year-old Pfc. Travis E. Nunn, home for two weeks of rest and recuperation. She had not seen him since he left for Iraq last Labor Day.
`I couldnt even watch him when he drove away last Labor Day' Griffin recalled. `Now that hes home I cant bear to think how soon he will be gone again. Nunn signed up to serve in the Army and shuttled off to boot camp on July 20, 2005. His original intention was to go into medic school in the Army but after speaking with several veterans returning from Iraq, he decided to put medic school on hold and join his comrades in harms way. `Its what I signed up to do, serve my country and serve alongside my fellow soldiers' Nunn said. `Most of what we do is escort military convoys, but we see our share of engagements.
He said it was strange to adapt so quickly to `normal life after so many months in a war zone. As he left to drive home with his father from Dallas to Redwater early Monday morning, he had to make himself stop wondering if there were hidden bombs under the overpasses. `For a while there, I was looking for places where the enemy might be hiding their IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)' Nunn said, laughing. `Its also hard not to drive in the middle of the road, or to drive real, real fast. We love getting to places quickly in Iraq.
Nunn arrived at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 9 a.m. Sunday. As he emerged from the plane, his father, David Nunn, and his stepmother, Dawn, were waiting to greet him, along with a few dozen volunteers who welcome home veterans returning home for R&R every day (see www.heroes@dfwairport.com for how to join these volunteer welcome home parties). Lisa had Nunn put himself on speaker phone so her husband Mike Griffin and David and Dawn could all hear. `It sounded like Mardi Gras over there as the troops got off the plane' Lisa said. `There was music and cheering and yelling. It sounded wonderful.
Lisa insisted that the younger Nunn stay with his father and stepmother overnight Sunday and drive over Monday morning for Memorial Day together. They arrived at the Griffin household a little after 11 a.m. As soon as he arrived his mother handed him the phone so he could greet his older brother in California. Nunn insists he doesnt have it near as hard as many of the service men and women living in Iraq. He and his roommate, Pfc. Justin Wilson, bunk in a small mobile type home with air conditioning and two bunks in an Air Force base at Al Asad, Iraq.
`It beat sleeping in tents, like so many of them (other American service men and women) do' he said. `We live on an Air Force base, but its run by Marines. His hours, however, are erratic. He never knows from which direction, or when, harm may come his way. `As escorts in a 1117 Assault Security Vehicle, we might be called to escort a convoy of medical supplies or ammo a hundred miles away at 1 in the morning, or we might be called out to run a supply errand during the hottest part of the day' Nunn said. `We make very few stops, and if we do have to shoot, we shoot pretty much on the move.
Welcoming him home at Redwater were a slew of relatives and friends, and a BBQ cookout with all the trimmings. Nunns best friend since second grade dropped by to visit. `Josh (Kimble) is my other son' Griffin said, laughing. `Theyve never had one cross word between them; they seem closer than brothers. Mikes parents also came in, as well as Mikes daughter, Kayla, and her 2-month-old baby, Austin Edward, and several nieces.
Before they left, Lisa had Travis sit with her on a back porch swing that she spent the last 9 days painting. The slats are alternating white and red, with the top left corner a field of blue with white stars. Below, on the seat in script lettering, are the words: `Pfc. Travis E. Nunn, U.S. Army, God Bless America, Land that I love.
http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/localnews/2007/05/29/a_soldiers_homecoming.php
C&P of article:
A soldiers homecoming
Staff photo by John Fooks Reclining in a porch swing, Lisa Rachel Griffin and her son Private First Class Travis E. Nunn spend a special moment together at their Redwater, Texas, home on Memorial Day afternoon. Griffin had specially painted the porch swing for her sons homecoming from Iraq.
Mondays Memorial Day brought a memory not likely forgotten by Lisa Rachel Griffin of Redwater, Texas. She was on the phone in the kitchen at 11 a.m. with her oldest son, Mark Nunn, 23, who lives in California, when she heard the sound of a car pulling into her driveway in the Echo Hills subdivision near Redwater. She heard the crunching of gravel through the kitchen and the garage doors, both open for just that purpose. `Hold on, Mark' she shouted into the phone before racing toward the car rolling to a stop. She was in her younger sons arms before he was out of the car. `Oh, God, thank You! Welcome home, son' exclaimed the mother of 19-year-old Pfc. Travis E. Nunn, home for two weeks of rest and recuperation. She had not seen him since he left for Iraq last Labor Day.
`I couldnt even watch him when he drove away last Labor Day' Griffin recalled. `Now that hes home I cant bear to think how soon he will be gone again. Nunn signed up to serve in the Army and shuttled off to boot camp on July 20, 2005. His original intention was to go into medic school in the Army but after speaking with several veterans returning from Iraq, he decided to put medic school on hold and join his comrades in harms way. `Its what I signed up to do, serve my country and serve alongside my fellow soldiers' Nunn said. `Most of what we do is escort military convoys, but we see our share of engagements.
He said it was strange to adapt so quickly to `normal life after so many months in a war zone. As he left to drive home with his father from Dallas to Redwater early Monday morning, he had to make himself stop wondering if there were hidden bombs under the overpasses. `For a while there, I was looking for places where the enemy might be hiding their IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)' Nunn said, laughing. `Its also hard not to drive in the middle of the road, or to drive real, real fast. We love getting to places quickly in Iraq.
Nunn arrived at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 9 a.m. Sunday. As he emerged from the plane, his father, David Nunn, and his stepmother, Dawn, were waiting to greet him, along with a few dozen volunteers who welcome home veterans returning home for R&R every day (see www.heroes@dfwairport.com for how to join these volunteer welcome home parties). Lisa had Nunn put himself on speaker phone so her husband Mike Griffin and David and Dawn could all hear. `It sounded like Mardi Gras over there as the troops got off the plane' Lisa said. `There was music and cheering and yelling. It sounded wonderful.
Lisa insisted that the younger Nunn stay with his father and stepmother overnight Sunday and drive over Monday morning for Memorial Day together. They arrived at the Griffin household a little after 11 a.m. As soon as he arrived his mother handed him the phone so he could greet his older brother in California. Nunn insists he doesnt have it near as hard as many of the service men and women living in Iraq. He and his roommate, Pfc. Justin Wilson, bunk in a small mobile type home with air conditioning and two bunks in an Air Force base at Al Asad, Iraq.
`It beat sleeping in tents, like so many of them (other American service men and women) do' he said. `We live on an Air Force base, but its run by Marines. His hours, however, are erratic. He never knows from which direction, or when, harm may come his way. `As escorts in a 1117 Assault Security Vehicle, we might be called to escort a convoy of medical supplies or ammo a hundred miles away at 1 in the morning, or we might be called out to run a supply errand during the hottest part of the day' Nunn said. `We make very few stops, and if we do have to shoot, we shoot pretty much on the move.
Welcoming him home at Redwater were a slew of relatives and friends, and a BBQ cookout with all the trimmings. Nunns best friend since second grade dropped by to visit. `Josh (Kimble) is my other son' Griffin said, laughing. `Theyve never had one cross word between them; they seem closer than brothers. Mikes parents also came in, as well as Mikes daughter, Kayla, and her 2-month-old baby, Austin Edward, and several nieces.
Before they left, Lisa had Travis sit with her on a back porch swing that she spent the last 9 days painting. The slats are alternating white and red, with the top left corner a field of blue with white stars. Below, on the seat in script lettering, are the words: `Pfc. Travis E. Nunn, U.S. Army, God Bless America, Land that I love.
0
-
Thanks, David.
Doug0 -
Great article. Thanks for sharing! 0 -
Funny thing is, I can't seem to interest the Greenville Herald-Banner (http://www.heraldbanner.com/) in doing the tiniest article on Travis.
Best I can figure is, the Gazette supports our President and the war effort, and the Banner does not.0 -
Great article! He seems too young to have to bear that awsome responsibility. 0 -
I sent the editor of the Greenville Herald Banner, Derek Price, links to the Gazette article and to this thread. I expect to be ignored, again. 0 -
Dang. Did anyone look? 0 -
Very Nice article. If your son doesnt know it yet, he is a hero! 0 -
Great article, You have a fine young man there. 0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
8 comments